Because you're mine
by i-visualize
Summary: After the Khan incident and Jim's near death (okay, technically Jim died), Jim and Spock are very close. What everyone wants to know is... how close? Are they simply friends? Or are they something more? Exasperated best friends, jealous girlfriends, matchmaking Vulcans, bitchy old ladies, deadly missions, etc, etc, etc... will not let these two men escape their true feelings now.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! Firstly the important thing -**

**Disclaimer - I do not own these characters. Nor am I making any profit over them.**

**Now... To new beginnings... **cheers****

* * *

James T. Kirk, captain of the Enterprise and known to his friends as Jim, fell to his knees gasping for air. But even the lack of air and sheer exhaustion and pain could not wipe out the smile from his face; showing that he was wrecked but not defeated… never defeated.

He had done it; saved his crew, his family. The Enterprise had been falling to Earth but somehow he had managed to restore power to the warp drive at the last possible minute. Exposing himself to radiation in order to save the ship was a small price to pay.

'_A very small price…'_

He felt more than heard Spock arrive and focused his eyes upon him. Spock crouched and then their eyes were on level with one another. "Spock," Jim whispered.

They were parted by a glass door but it felt as if they were closer than ever. "How's our ship?" he managed to gasp out.

"Out of danger," came Spock's reply, precise and exactly what Jim wanted to hear. He smiled at his perfect Vulcan, "Good…"

Jim gasped once again, trying to force air inside his unwilling lungs and saw Spock's eyes fill with anguish.

"You saved the crew," Spock said after a moment.

'_Yes, my crew is alive… __**you**__ are alive,' _Jim thought. But out loud he said, "You used what he wanted against him. That's a nice move."

"It is what you would have done," Spock replied, his voice hoarser than usual.

Jim grinned weakly, "And this... this is what you would have done. It was only logical."

His grin vanished as he felt his heart struggling to keep on beating. And it was then he acknowledged to himself that he really was dying. Not even Bones would be able to pull out a miracle from thin air and save him this time. It was terror gripped him then.

"I'm scared, Spock. Help me not be. How do you choose not to feel?" he asked. Like a child seeking for comfort.

Spock made a small, strangled sound and replied, "I do not know. Right now, I am failing." And with that he reached out with his hands and laid it on the glass, his fingers arranged in the Vulcan salute.

Jim blinked as he noticed his own lying directly opposite it. They would have been touching if not for the glass and suddenly he wanted the glass to disappear. '_Just once_.' But even he, the one who did not believe in no-win-scenarios, knew the wish to be futile. He knew that he only had a few more seconds left. He could feel his heart beating in a desperate, unsynchronized rhythm; nearly giving out.

'_A few more seconds… hold on…'_

There was one last thing he had to tell Spock before… before he died, "I want you to know why I couldn't let you die... why I went back for you…," Jim gasped unable to breathe, unable to complete what he was saying.

"Because you are my friend," Spock completed it for him.

'_Yes, my friend, my brother, mine… SPOCK…' _

Jim felt the last breath leave his body.

**xXxXxXxXx**

Spock looked down at the pleasure flushed face of Nyota as he slowly entered her. The sensation of being inside her was adequately pleasurable, he thought while lying perfectly still over her and letting her adjust to his size.

Soon enough, both of them wanted more. It was rather obvious by the way Nyota was clutching his shoulders and telling him to move. Or rather, ordering him to do so.

"Move Spock… now, now!" Nyota gasped out.

For approximately 3.253 seconds Spock let his mind dwell on why the lack of submissiveness on her part did not trouble him. Vulcan males by nature were mostly dominant and so they needed submission from their bond mates. He believed it to be an evolutionary trait as during Pon farr the Vulcan males lost every semblance of their logic and control. They became, to use a terran word, feral. Anything other than complete submission from their bond mates would increase the chances of them being severely injured or even dead by 75.128 percent.

Accordingly, the ease with which he could control his dominant nature with Nyota was… troubling. It would become a problem if Nyota wished to bond with him.

"Spock…," Nyota hissed and Spock started moving. He thrust inside her tight, heated channel… building his pace… harder… faster… the pleasure building with his every stroke…

Nyota screamed his name as she orgasmed and soon Spock followed her.

Breathing a bit erratically, Spock rolled away from Nyota to the other side of the bed. Turning towards her, he found her smiling at him.

"That was amazing Spock," saying so Nyota moved closer and wrapped her arms around him. When Spock stiffened at the contact, Nyota moved away after laying a chaste kiss upon his lips.

This was one the things which made having a relationship with Nyota so easy. She understood that being a Vulcan he did not enjoy casual touches and thus she refrained from doing so. She also respected his cultural boundaries and rarely initiated contact when in public. He, therefore, held a high regard for her.

"I believe both of us have been sufficiently satisfied," Spock replied. It was the truth after all. He was satisfied with Nyota. She was logical, beautiful, intelligent, had a calm demeanour and respected his cultural boundaries. There was no logical reason why he should not be satisfied with their relationship.

None at all.

No matter what his older self tried to so subtly insist.

"Spock what are you thinking about?" Nyota captured his attention once again.

He was about to answer when he heard it. It was too faint to be heard by human ears but his sensitive Vulcan ears caught the sound easily… "SPOCK".

Spock recognized the voice calling his name. He would recognize the voice anywhere. It belonged to one of the very few people he cherished. Perhaps even the most…

'_Jim.'_

**xxx**

Spock was out of the bed in the blink of an eye which left Nyota sputtering. "Spock… what? What is the matter?" she asked, watching him don his meditation robe hastily. His face was completely blank of any expression but his eyes were blazing.

Alarmed, she jumped out of the bed and put on another of Spock's robes. She was still fumbling with the sleeves when she watched Spock open the door to his bathroom and enter it. Finally, putting the robe on successfully she ran to catch up with Spock.

She found that Spock had already opened the door which led to the Captain's chambers through their connecting bathroom.

'_Of course_,' Uhura thought bitterly, _'I should have guessed.'_

_**xxx**_

As soon as the door opened, Spock sought out the Captain. But the first thing his eyes landed upon was Dr. Carol Marcus. She was unclothed, covered only by a bed sheet and leaning over the Captain anxiously.

Spock felt something bitter swell within him at the sight of the blonde woman but he did not pause to examine what it was.

"Dr. Marcus," Spock snapped which made her squeak and turn towards him. She immediately pulled up the sheet higher and burst out nervously, "Oh, Commander! Jim… umm… he's not well, I think. I was about to comm Dr. McCoy and…"

Spock walked towards the bed and got his first look at Jim.

Jim was trembling in his sleep caught in a nightmare. And Spock did not have to infer which. It was most certainly the same one which had been repeatedly plaguing Jim after the Khan incident. The nightmare in which he was surrounded by death and destruction.

Jim's face was wet with tears and he was gasping for air.

Spock felt something tight squeezing his heart and he visibly clenched his teeth. He had failed to save Jim that one time but he would not fail him again. He would allow nothing and no one to hurt him; and certainly not some nightmares.

Spock took a seat beside Jim on the bed and laid the flat of his hand on his forehead. He ran his thumb across Jim's forehead gently, right over his brows.

"Jim," Spock called out in a soft voice, "wake up." It came out as half a plea and half an order.

The nightmare slowly loosened its clutch upon Jim and Spock kept up his ministrations all throughout it. "Jim," Spock called out once more and Jim finally opened his eyes.

As Jim blinked the sleep, fear, pain and panic from his eyes, Spock took in the tears clinging on Jim's eyelashes. He took in those stunning blue eyes which looked like twin oceans right now… and his breath hitched.

'_Most illogical.'_

**xxx**

'_Holy crap, it was just a stupid dream,'_ taking deep breaths Jim tried reassuring himself that he was alive and Spock was actually there with him. "Spock," Jim whispered and saw a small smile lifting Spock's lips.

Spock's fingers were gliding through his hair gently and he sighed in pleasure.

Finally he woke up enough to notice the two scantily clad women standing beside his bed and staring at him and Spock. But apparently the similarities ended there. Carol had a bed sheet wrapped around her, _his bed sheet, _and her expression was a mixture of hurt and concern. While Uhura wore Spock's robes and was openly glaring.

Being the genius that he was, he easily put two and two together and came to realize what must have happened…

Uhura and Carol had witnessed his weakness. They had witnessed his breakdown.

'_Damn it,'_ he thought vehemently, '_should have never taken up Carol's offer tonight.'_

His face burnt hot with humiliation and he childishly buried his face against Spock's thighs.

**xxx**

Spock almost growled at the two women who had put that particular look on Jim's face. But he restrained… barely. Instead he gave them a cold look and told them to depart.

"But I think I should stay with Jim, Commander…" Dr. Marcus trailed off, intimidated into silence by his cold glare.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Uhura pitched in, ignoring Spock. "You are his girlfriend… of course you should stay. I and Spock will just be leaving. Right, Spock?"

"Wrong Nyota," Spock replied in a dangerously even voice and saw Nyota's expression change into one of wariness. "I will be staying here with Jim while you will accompany Dr. Marcus to my room wherein both of you will don your respective attires and then proceed to your respective quarters."

When the women simply stood gaping at him he added, "I think the instructions were clearly not comprehendible to you both. Hence I will repeat myself…"

**xxx**

'_Oh God, did he just insult both our girlfriends? At the same time?' _

"Spock…," Jim swatted his thighs and then sat up, looking torn between mirth and horror. The sheet covering him pooled around his hips revealing his naked torso to all individuals present in the room.

This made Spock raise his brow disapprovingly to which Jim rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Aww… come on Spock. It's nothing the ladies have not seen before," Jim winked at Uhura and Carol, trying to lower the tension in the room. But at the same time he did pull up the sheet higher, covering his torso with it.

Spock simply got up and fetched a t-shirt for him.

Jim sighed exaggeratedly before accepting it from Spock and putting it on. He then turned his attention back towards the women.

Carol gave him a tentative smile while Uhura's poisonous glare made him wince.

"Umm…," darting a glance at Spock, Carol asked him nervously, "shall I stay then?"

Before Spock could intervene with a scathing remark, Jim replied, "Nah… your and Uhura's sleep has been disturbed enough for tonight. Both of you go and get some rest. Okay?"

Carol nodded reluctantly and then collected her clothes before leaving via the bathroom door connecting his and Spock's quarters. Uhura followed… quietly seething.

"You were too rude Spock," Jim murmured. "And Uhura is going to give you some serious shit over this tomorrow."

Spock threw him an unimpressive look, saying, "It was perfectly logical to deduce that for some reason they were both unable to comprehend my orders as they stood gaping at me instead of following them."

That brought out a chuckle out of Jim and he regarded Spock with a fond and impish smile. Spock's eyes turned into twin pools of molten chocolate.

"Temper, temper…," Jim teased. "We have to do something about that temper of yours. You are seriously infected with one of those seven deadly sins Mr. Vulcan having absolutely no feelings at all. Guess what, it's called… 'wrath'. "

Jim laughed as Spock's eyebrows twitched in a way which totally meant that he had once again riled him successfully. He mentally patted himself in the back.

"Aww… don't pout Spock. Look at me… I am super awesome and amazing but still have one of my own. You know which?" he asked grinning.

**xxx**

Spock smiled (the Vulcan way, of course) upon seeing Jim return to their usual playful banter. Jim was most probably unaware of the fact that all throughout it he had been leaning against Spock's side.

To answer Jim's earlier question, Spock replied drily, "I believe the answer to be 'vanity'. It would be well justified as you seemingly possess a copious amount of it."

Jim gave him a mock glare which disappeared as Spock adjusted their poses and pulled him in his arms securely.

Jim buried his nose in the junction of Spock's throat and neck and sighed with pleasure. He went boneless in Spock's arms as his fatigue and residual panic from the nightmare faded away in the warmth and security of Spock's embrace.

Jim murmured a quiet 'thank you'; hearing which Spock bestowed Jim with a look filled with fond exasperation, "Jim, as I have already stated 43 times in the past, your gratitude is appreciated but unnecessary. To care for you is…"

"If you say logical," Jim interrupted him, "I'll sic Winona on you."

Spock growled like always when that woman's name came up. Jim had recently begun telling him all about his appalling childhood. It was a slow, ongoing process as reviving those memories were downright painful for Jim, especially the memories of Tarsus IV. But with his unconditional support and Dr. McCoy's gentle guidance, Jim was able to talk about his past more and more easily every other day.

It was going to prove to be advantageous as Winona Kirk, Jim's biological mother, had grown more bitter and angry with her advancing age; and she had made it her life's mission to hound Jim wherever he went. Therefore Spock was very sure that she would be present in the Starfleet's Annual Celebrations which would be held in two months time.

"I'll most certainly look forward to it. Now, go to sleep. I'll stay with you till then."

Jim sighed and closed his eyes. There was blissful silence for a minute and a half before Jim interrupted it with, "Spock?"

"Yes, Jim."

"Is the Vulcan tendency to boss other people natural? Or do you all stand in front of the mirrors for hours and hours and practice how to appear all stuffy and intimidating?"

Spock sighed but answered dutifully, "Most Vulcan males are by nature dominant. Though there are submissive Vulcan males present, they are very few."

"Oh."

There was another bout of silence. But knowing Jim as well as he did, Spock could see that Jim appeared restless.

"Jim, what is the matter?" he asked softly.

Jim sighed wearily and told him 'nothing'. Seeing his disbelieving look though Jim smiled and added, "I am a bit… anxious to go back to sleep. I hate the fucking nightmares. Perhaps I should take a mild sedative."

"I disagree," Spock proclaimed. "You are getting addicted to those."

Jim snarled at him then, moving out of the circle of his arms. "Well, fuck off Spock. Don't tell me what to do. I'll take as many sedatives as I like. And if you do not like it either give me a better alternative or shut the hell up. I have a ship to run and I will not risk my crew because I can't sleep as I am afraid of some damn nightmares."

Spock kept his face impassive and his body still when his hands were itching to shake some sense into Jim. But it would be illogical and serve no purpose.

In its place, he let Jim see his implacable resolve of not letting him have a sedative. Jim would not be taking any more of those drugs.

Jim sighed tiredly. He did not have the energy to fight with Spock right then. So he sequestered himself back in Spock's arms and said, "Fine, let's compromise. Do the Vulcan nerve pinch thing."

Spock relaxed as his anger quickly transformed into amusement, "The Vulcan nerve pinch is more detrimental than sedatives if used on a regular basis. I believe I have a better solution."

Jim gasped and looked at him with eyes huge with excitement, "Really? What is it? Come on Spock, don't make me have to kill you…"

"Killing me would not serve the purpose of…"

"Spock!" Jim hit him with a pillow.

"You might think of it to be slightly invasive. But if you allow me to perform a meld with you then I believe my presence in your mind would successfully keep the nightmares away."

Jim stared at him for a moment before saying a resounding yes. "Lord, you're brilliant."

Spock gave him a small smile.

"Of course, being the genius that I am, I recognized your brilliance instantly and bagged you as my First Officer."

"Jim…"

"What?"

"I have reconsidered and decided to proceed with the nerve pinch."

* * *

**Hope you all liked it. Please review... I would love to hear what you all think... :)**


	2. Chapter 2

The next week found the crew of the Enterprise amidst a flurry of activity. The Enterprise was on the course to the planet Zodura II on maximum warp under Starfleet's orders. Apparently, they were of high priority.

"Kepten and Komander on ze bridge," Chekov announced with a huge smile as the doors of the turbolift opened, admitting Jim and Spock.

Jim greeted everyone with a smile and a wink. Spock gave a cool nod.

"Alright everyone, your attention please," Jim began. "As you all know that we are headed for the planet Zodura as per Starfleet's orders. I want all my department heads and senior officers in the briefing room in ten minutes wherein further instructions will be given. Uhura… you know what to do."

Uhura pursed her lips and gave him a rude glare before turning towards her station.

Jim bristled at the insult and had to clench his teeth shut in order to keep himself from reprimanding her on the bridge.

Spock however, who had also seen Uhura's look, had no such qualms. He asked in a perfectly even tone, "Lt. Uhura, do you have anything to say against the Captain's orders? Please enlighten the rest of us."

The whole bridge quietened as everyone on the bridge became engrossed with whatever they were doing. In fact, Jim would bet upon his last credit that some of them were even trying not to breathe.

Jim was most definitely impressed and wondered how Spock managed to insert that much of intimidation into a single sentence. He himself probably looked as threatening as a cute and cuddly teddy bear next to Spock.

Jim scowled.

Suddenly another unpleasant thought struck him, _'Holy shit, does Bones have a more intimidating scowl?'_

Meanwhile, Uhura had stiffened and slowly turned to face Spock.

"No, Commander," she answered quietly.

"Are you certain? Your actions do not quite match with your words, Lieutenant," Spock countered.

Uhura bit her lips before answering contritely, "Quite sure, Commander." Saying so, she turned towards Jim, "I apologize if it seemed otherwise, Captain."

Jim nodded, letting her off the hook. "No harm done, Lieutenant. But," Jim added before she could turn back towards her station, "see that this does not happen again."

Jim gestured Spock towards the briefing room and they left together. And sure enough, on their heels came several sighs of relief.

**xxx**

"Zodura II is a recently discovered planet, with an arid climate and very few sentient life forms. The plant life too is scarce and scattered. The only remotely habitable areas are near the water bodies which are fed by deep aquifers," Spock informed all the officers in the briefing room.

"Remotely habitable?" Bones interrupted him. "Why the hell is this mission of a high priority then?"

Spock glared at Bones at the interruption while Bones scowled back.

Jim hastily covered his smile before either of the two men could see him. Clearing his throat, he ordered them in his best 'Captain' voice, "Now, now, children… please stop pulling each other's pigtails."

"Children…," Bones sputtered, transferring the glare to Jim while Jim simply smirked at him.

Spock gave a small sigh and continued, "Before Dr. McCoy interrupted me, I was about to elucidate that Starfleet's interest in the planet does not lie in the planet's habitability. The reason why Zodura II has been classified as a most important planet is the enormous quantity of Dilithium crystals which the planet apparently contains."

"Aye… I distinctly remember reading about it somewhere," Scotty burst in. "Starfleet made a team of scientists and sent it to the planet. It was led by… umm…"

"By the geologist Dr. Laverezer." Spock completed for Scotty before continuing, "The reports forwarded by the scientists are exemplary. The planet is habitable enough for a mining centre to be set up. The local life forms are of no threat and the Dilithium reserves are plentiful and easily accessible. But recently, the team of scientists sent to the planet lost contact with Starfleet owing to an ion storm which jammed their communicators and electronic devices. However, after the storm had passed, they were still out of contact. As of now, 48.256 hours have passed and no contact could have been established with them. Hence, they have officially been labelled as missing now."

Spock paused to look at Jim, "Captain, perhaps you would like to continue from here…"

Jim smiled at Spock before turning towards the rest of his senior officers.

"Okay, so these scientists might be perfectly all right, the problem being some faulty communicating devices. But then again, they might not be. And that's where we come in. We are to beam down to the planet, find out what's wrong, find the scientists and beam them out if the situation demands. In a nutshell… we'll be treating this as a rescue operation. Do you agree, Spock?"

"Affirmative," Spock replied. "We shall have to implement speed and stealth and be prepared for unidentified hazards. I recommend the size of the landing party to be small."

Jim nodded thoughtfully and then proceeded to give his orders, "The landing party will consist of me, Commander Spock, Dr. McCoy and Lt. Hendorff and his team of security officers. Another security team should stand ready to beam down if needed. I also want a medical team ready, awaiting our return. The science team is to scan the planet and analyze every data that Spock sends… Dr. Marcus you're in charge of that. Lt. Uhura, you and your team will try to establish communication with those scientists, and Scotty… keep an eye out for ion storms. Are the orders clear?"

A chorus of 'Yes, Captain' rang out.

"Great then, you're all dismissed. Sulu, you have the conn," Jim said grinning, excited at the thought of some upcoming action. He missed Spock and Bones sharing a wary look at his expense.

**xxx**

"Spock, may I talk to you for a second?" Nyota asked nervously.

Spock looked up at her and instantly derived from her sombre expression that whatever she was going to say would be important.

"Affirmative," he replied.

He had been giving some last minute instructions to his science team before he beamed down to the planet. He wrapped it up quickly.

"That will be all, officers. You are all dismissed."

Spock waited for his officers to disperse before giving Nyota his full attention. He had not missed the look Dr. Marcus and Nyota had shared before Dr. Marcus returned back to her work station. But he chose not to question Nyota about it.

"Nyota, I have to be in the transporter room within 30.23 minutes."

Nyota nodded nervously. "I know, I just wanted to tell you to be safe. And…," she stopped abruptly and took a deep breath before continuing, "I am so sorry, Spock. I am so sorry."

Spock stared at her impassively for a moment before asking, "May know the reason why?"

She smiled self-deprecatingly. "The reason why I am sorry or why I acted like a bitch in the first place?"

"Both, if you please," Spock replied in a quiet voice.

Nyota began her confession after contemplating for a moment or two. "That day when Jim nearly died, do you remember how scared you were thinking you were going to lose him?"

Spock's mind immediately flashed back to that day…

**X**

"_Why is not working? Why, Doctor? You said it would. You said Khan's blood would revive him. Do something."_

"_What do you think I am doing, you bloody hobgoblin? Now get out of here before I have to sedate you… Fuck his heart is stopping again. Damn it! Christine… the anti-haemorrhage hypo, now."_

"_Do not die. You promised to trounce me in chess. Keep your promise… Just keep breathing."_

"_His heart has stabilized for now, Spock. Don't worry, he is James T. Kirk. He is going to be all right. He knows I'll kill him if he dies. Now go outside and wait, okay?"_

**X**

Spock drew in a sharp breath. "Vulcans do not experience fear, Nyota," he informed her in a harsh voice.

"Is that so? I was of the opinion that they do not lie either Spock. I sat with you outside while Leonard worked tirelessly to save Jim. I was so blind, so oblivious till that day. And even then I stuck my head in the sand like some ostrich rather than face the reality. And… and I became so jealous, so bitter, so scared thinking I was going to lose you," she paused, her face wet with tears.

"So many times I felt like giving you an ultimatum to make a choice between me and him."

The statement completely stunned Spock for few seconds during which he could only stare at Nyota. She started fidgeting under his heavy gaze.

He finally found his voice back and asked, "So, why did you not?"

"Because… because I already knew who you would choose," she replied quietly. "I could never compete with him. I couldn't compete when you thought he was dead. How can I ever compete now?"

"Nyota, I do not understand. Jim is my friend…," Spock started but she interrupted him harshly.

"Stop, Spock. You may be my boyfriend now, but first and foremost you are my friend. I don't want to lose your friendship. I don't want to lose Jim's friendship either. And so I think it's time. I am finally ready to end our… relationship."

Spock's eyes closed of their own accord listening to Nyota dissolving their relationship. Dissolving all their carefully laid out plans. Dissolving their future together and all that was practical and predictable.

And the only thing could feel was… relief.

He opened his eyes when Nyota laid her hand over his chest. He stood completely still as she rose upon her toes and laid a chaste kiss upon his lips.

"I am no longer afraid to lose you Spock. It's because I have finally realized… I never had you in the first place."

**xxx**

"Oww… damn it Bones! What the fuck?" Jim hissed as Bones attacked him with a hypospray. They were in the transporter room, about to be beamed down.

Bones gave him an unimpressed look and grumbled, "A newly discovered planet… lord knows how many stupid things you will be allergic to out there."

Jim was about to give a scathing reply when Spock joined them. He looked oddly contemplative but his stance screamed ready for battle and Jim could not help but think that the Vulcan looked ridiculously hot.

Jim blinked. _'Shit, did I just think Spock and hot in the same context? Well he is hot, of course. With a body like that… Damn it, get your head out of the gutter Jim! He's your best friend…'_

"Aaargh…," Jim screamed as Bones once again hypoed him. "Holy shit Bones! Get those things away from me, you sadist."

The crew members around Jim suppressed their smiles including Spock.

"Oh that?" Bones smirked. "It was the tri-ox compound. We're going to a fucking desert if you have forgotten… with a very low amount of oxygen."

"The Doctor is right Captain," Spock interrupted. "The lack of oxygen would have hindered you."

Jim rolled his eyes, "Okay, fine. But can you both relax a bit? It's going to be a pretty straightforward mission. We get in, find out what happened to the scientists and then we get out."

Bones snorted.

"Oh come on Bones. What can possibly go wrong in a fucking desert with almost no sentient beings or dangerous life forms?"

And once again Jim missed his two senior most officers and best friends sharing a look, each sporting matching looks of trepidation.

**xxx**

Hours later Jim found himself running for his life with a pack of unknown wild animals behind him, intent on making him their dinner.

And to top it off, he absolutely had no idea about where he was.

_'Lord help us all...'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Planet Zodura II**

After the small landing party beamed down on the planet Zodura II, they discovered for themselves the accuracy of the reports on the planet's habitability. Simply said, the planet's environment was too harsh and unforgiving to be considered fit for habitation. With the sun's rays heating up the atmosphere to a temperature of 59.45 degree Celsius, even Spock appeared to be slightly uncomfortable. And it was not even the peak of summer yet!

If not for the heat protective clothing they wore, each of them would have ended up with a nasty sunburn. Well everyone except Spock, perhaps.

Now, Jim had no problem with the protective clothing per se, despite the fact that he looked kind of ridiculous in it; but he hated the protective headwear with a passion. It was itchy and discomforting. And every time he took it off, either Spock or Bones would be there glaring at him until the headwear was back in its place.

Jim and Spock, by mutual agreement, had decided to beam down near the campsite set up by the scientists. Finding the campsite completely deserted was slightly disheartening, but all of them had been prepared for that possibility.

The campsite was located adjacent to a small water body. Spock theorized that the location must have been chosen by the scientists keeping in mind the area's proximity to the Dilithium mines. The distance between the two could be easily traversed by walking.

The vegetation, as expected, was sparse. Squat, cactus like plants seemed to be the most dominant species but some thorny flowering plants thrived in the vicinity of the water body. The water body itself was the size of a small pond.

Jim and his team meticulously searched the entire area, including each and every individual camp and the neighbouring rock caves, in order to gain some clue regarding the scientists' disappearance.

Unfortunately, they found none very conclusive.

**XXXXXXXX**

An hour after their arrival on the planet, Jim stood next to the small pond with Bones; both of them listening attentively as Spock reported the search.

"The search has been concluded, Captain. No signs of struggles have been found. This implies either the scientists along with their security team had left the camp voluntarily or…"

"They were incapable of putting up a struggle," Jim completed; sharing a look with Spock.

Ever since they had beamed down upon the planet, Jim had caught Spock staring at him several times with an unreadable expression on his face. He did not know why but he found himself getting flustered each and every time.

Jim started fidgeting when their eyes held each other's for a few seconds longer than was required. The unexplained feeling of shyness took him by surprise, and he quickly looked away; thus missing the way Spock's eyes flared with heat. He also missed the way he way Spock's eyes glinted with hunger and need.

But Bones did not.

**xxx**

Clenching his teeth, Bones looked heavenwards. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? They had both been hopelessly oblivious for so long that it must have broken more than a few universe records. The other Spock, the older version, was even planning an intervention in their behalf. And now out of the blue, the hobgoblin had an epiphany? Not that he wasn't grateful for it, but did it have to happen in the middle of a freaking mission?

But even as he thought so, his mind flashed back to another mission back in the day when he had been just promoted to the position of CMO because there weren't enough senior doctors alive for that post.

_Bloodthirsty Romulans… Destruction of Vulcan… Earth in danger… Death and terror all around. _

_Jim and Spock striking a tentative new friendship… Victory!_

Bones sighed and then smiled ruefully. As always, their timing sucked but he had full faith upon them that somehow or the other, they would see this mission to an end too. They always did. They weren't the best Command team in the Starfleet for nothing.

Still, he found himself curious and wondering about what had changed between them. He shrugged it off for now; confident in his ability to get the answer out of Spock. But until that opportunity arose, no one said he couldn't have a bit of fun at their expense. It was simply too good an opportunity to pass, after all.

Here was Mr. Feelings-are-illogical, finally realizing that he too had become a victim of the proverbial cupid's arrow. And the 'playboy' was blushing like a virgin.

'Oh! How the mighty have fallen,' Bones mentally rubbed his hands together gleefully.

**xxx**

Jim, meanwhile, couldn't believe that he had got that worked up over a simple look from Spock. What the hell was going on? First he had been lusting after Spock and now… now he was acting like some shy, blushing schoolgirl with her first crush. He needed to get his act together. They were on a mission, dammit!

Jim finally recovered enough of his composure to ask while turning to look at Spock, "What about the electronic devices though? Did you take a look at those?"

He was a bit disappointed to find Spock perfectly composed, as always; and he mentally chastised himself, _'Of course he is perfectly composed! What am I thinking? He has a girlfriend, one whom he loves very much.'_

He willfully ignored the pang he felt in his heart at that.

"Affirmative, Captain," Spock answered smoothly. "I have personally checked the electronic devices left behind in the camps and all of them have broken down except for the tricorders which have retained nearly sixty percent of their original functionality. I think it would be safe to surmise that the amount of damage caused by the ionic storm is in direct proportion to the complexity of a device."

"Hmm…," Jim bit his plush lower lip, thinking it over.

"How do you think would the phasers be affected by the storm?" he asked and then nearly gasped when he saw that instead of answering his question, Spock was busy staring at his lips.

It was all it took for his pulse to began racing. The intense heat that quickly followed had nothing to do with the high temperature of the planet but everything with the male standing in front of him. The slow burn of desire dazed him and his own eyes were dragged involuntarily towards Spock's lips. Jim wondered how they would feel against his. Would they be as soft as they looked? Would they allow him to take the lead; or would they claim his instead?

A moan slipped past his lips at that.

It seemed as if Spock was struggling with the exact same desires because next he knew, Spock was leaning towards him and…

"Aaaah! Damn it! What the hell Bones?" Jim yelled; rubbing the spot where Bones had hypoed him.

It took him a few moments to realize what had just nearly happened, during which he glared at Bones' embarrassed face.

'_Holy shit! Did I just almost kiss Spock? Or was it Spock who almost kissed me?'_ – his frantic thoughts raced, trying making some sense of the situation. '_Well, I guess who kissed who does not really matter. What matters is that _**_we_**_… we almost kissed each other!'_

At once, he felt an intense blush staining his face. He tried his best to avoid looking at Bones, who after overcoming his embarrassment was grinning evilly; or at Spock, who once again appeared absolutely unruffled.

'_That bastard!' _Jim thought vehemently. Spock looked so cool and collected even after he had… they had… well!

God dammit! That pointy eared bastard was pissing him off.

Still mimicking a ripened tomato, Jim glared at Spock. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" he muttered irately in a very low voice, knowing very well that the Vulcan with superhuman hearing capabilities would easily hear him.

What he did not know was that though it wasn't apparent, Spock was farthest from being unmoved.

**xxx**

"_What the hell do you think you are doing?" – _Spock clearly heard the question posed in the incensed tone of voice. He silently acknowledged that he was not very sure about it himself.

He had been content with Nyota. He had been able to categorize all that he felt for her into neatly organized compartments. Everything had been as expected. But the opposite was true for Jim. With Jim, he never knew what to expect.

Jim never respected his personal boundaries like everyone else, whether in public or in private. He would constantly touch him, invade his personal space, lean against him, tease him, argue with him…

But strangely enough, Jim never breached his boundaries either. It was as if with Jim his boundaries simply ceased to exist. And it was nothing less than astonishing.

When one had been bullied, belittled, and criticized all their life for not being Vulcan enough or for showing too much of emotion; learning how to keep a tight rein upon one's feelings became a necessity.

And so he had always been in control; unshakable and resolute.

But then came Jim… easily stripping him of his control with a few words, with a single look, with a single touch; making him feel too much and too quickly.

Too much anger, irritation, resentment… Too much need to punish. Too much admiration, exasperation, camaraderie… Too much need to protect. Too much hunger, adoration, possession… Too much need to cherish.

They baffled him… the feelings only this one man could invoke in him.

But then his eyes had locked with Jim's for a fleeting moment today, and as always he was struck by the exquisite beauty of those eyes.

Blue as the sky of Earth. The beauty of which could rival any sapphire's.

His entire world had suddenly shifted off its axis and he had felt a curious sensation… like falling into the depths of those lovely eyes. It was like plunging into an abyss from which he could not resurface. Nor did he want to.

It was then that he reached the inevitable conclusion – what he felt for Jim was the most elusive, mysterious and baffling of all emotions…

Love.

Soon after his mother's death his father had told him that he had married his mother because he loved her. Only now could he appreciate the depth of his father's feelings. Because only now he understood what it was to love; beyond race, prestige, and logic.

Now, all that was left was claiming his mate.

Spock allowed himself a slight smirk at his blushing Captain who was definitely going to surrender... and soon. He would only wait for the mission to end before approaching Jim.

Yes, that would be acceptable.

**xxx**

Jim could swear that it was a smirk which he caught on Spock's face before being replaced by the ever present neutral expression. And although he had posed the question about what the hell had Spock been thinking, judging by the fleeting smirk he had witnessed… he was not entirely sure that he would like the answer.

Moreover, Jim was not willing to entertain the idea that Spock was suddenly interested in him that way.

Absolutely not. He was not stupid enough to touch that minefield.

Although he shared a casual relationship with Carol; Spock and Uhura were completely committed to each other. Vulcans never had flings anyway.

Besides, Spock was even thinking of mating with Uhura. Yeah, Spock had discussed that particular possibility with him.

Jim winced.

Really, what was he thinking? Perhaps that almost kiss between them had just been a figment of his imagination. Perhaps he had finally gone crazy… crazy in love!

Jim gulped.

**xxx**

So lost was Jim in his thoughts that he completely missed what Spock said next. It wasn't until Bones elbowed him in his gut that he snapped back to attention.

"Huh?" Jim looked from Bones to Spock and back.

Bones took great pleasure in teasing him before informing that according to Spock, chances were that the phasers wouldn't be affected by the storm very much. Though, there was a possibility that they would get stuck in whichever mode they were in: heat, stun, kill or disintegrate.

"What the Doctor means is that there is an 89.52% possibility of the phasers retaining their functionality and 63.85% possibility of them getting arrested in whichever mode they will be at the onset of the ionic storm," Spock corrected.

Bones scoffed, "Whatever. Not everyone is anal about spouting off percentages to two decimal places like you, you green blooded hobgoblin."

Spock quirked his brow at Bones and Jim couldn't help but smile at the endearing habit of Spock's.

But only a little… Jim was still confused and annoyed and he did not want Spock to think that he was off the hook.

"Doctor, I am very much aware that being precise enough to two decimal places is well beyond your meagre capabilities, but perhaps you could take this opportunity to learn."

Bones visibly gritted his teeth and clenched his hands at Spock's jibe and Jim broke into peals of laughter.

The familiarity of Bones and Spock jibing at each other soothed Jim and he let whatever was happening between him and Spock rest for the time being. Spock and Bones were back to insulting each other and it displayed that all was well! He could once again focus on the mission.

"Enough, you two. I swear that sometimes the two of you act like the kid you accuse of me being," Jim told them grinning. "Let's head towards the mines and hope that we have better luck out there."

"Yeah, let's go," Bones grunted out in agreement. "The sooner we can finish this mission and leave this god-damned planet, the better. The heat is making me dizzy, and I'm sweating like a bloody pig." Bones' verbal tirade was accompanied by a withering scowl at everything within his range of sight… which to be honest was not much unless one took into account all the sand and rocks.

In the interim, Spock decided to impart correct information about that particular Terran species to Bones; his only motive was to be helpful, of course.

"Doctor, the Terran swines you are referring to possess only a few sweat glands. Consequently, they are not capable of generating any substantial amount of sweat. To lower their body temperatures they employ the technique of submerging themselves in mud. Your comparison is quite inaccurate," Spock informed, his voice sounding entirely too amused.

Bones, though, was not that impressed. It was evident when he lunged for Spock. Thankfully, Jim managed to grab him before he could land a punch.

**xxx**

After a while, Jim and his team headed for the mines; each and every one of them alert and ready to face the threat yet to be unveiled.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Spock, did you find anything?"

Spock looked up from the tricorder he had been using to scan the machine resembling a crusher to find that Jim and Bones were back from investigating the makeshift lab the scientists had put up nearby.

It was Jim who had posed the question.

"Captain, unlike the normal crushers used in mining processes, machines like this one have been specifically designed to generate enough power to crush the Dilithium crystals into dust," Spock answered, gesturing towards the machine in discussion. "Apart from huge amount of power these machines can produce, the design is uncomplicated and basic."

"But Spock, this machine looks like it has broken down completely. How can it be if the design is simple? You said it yourself that more the simplicity, less will be the damage," Jim reminded him.

Spock nodded. "Keeping all the facts in mind, I can hypothesize that this machine must have been under operation when the ion storm began. Ionic storms are sometimes known for creating strong electromagnetic fields. The radiant energy trapped in this planet's surface is already too high, and the electromagnetic field created by the ion storm that day must have resulted in an increase in the already high radiant heat of the planet; thus creating the 'piezoelectric effect'. The crystals which were being ground inside the machine converted the radiant heat into mechanical energy. The sudden spike in the mechanical energy must have increased the mechanical stress which caused a complete breakdown of this machine."

Jim, who had an Advanced degree in Astrophysics, did not even bat his eye at the scientific jargon. But for Bones it was different matter altogether.

Bones gave a long suffering sigh and looked over at Jim, "Please explain that. And in English this time, please."

Jim obliged, grinning. "Spock thinks that the crusher was in use when the ion storm struck. And because of the storm, the crystals inside the crusher caused the breakdown of the machine by generating too much of energy which in turn produced too much of stress."

Bones had no difficulty in understanding this time around and nodded thoughtfully. "We too came across a similar scenario in the lab. The test-tubes and chemicals were strewn about as if the scientists working in the lab had to evacuate abruptly."

"Well, this makes perfect sense!" Jim exclaimed. "When the scientists left their camps for the mines in the morning along with their security, it must have been just another day for them. But then the ion storm struck suddenly and they had to leave their work incomplete in order to find shelter from the storm."

Jim began looking around excitedly. "They must have taken shelter somewhere near and somehow got stuck. Want to bet that they are in one of these rock caves?"

**xxx**

As always, Jim's exuberance was catching and Spock smiled to himself. He had always been helplessly drawn towards that vivacity.

As for the rock caves, there were seven in the vicinity and Spock oversaw the formation of three search parties which would efficiently see the task done in the shortest period of time.

Spock, Jim and Bones were to lead one search party each and two of the security officers would be accompanying each of them. The rest would stay in the mines and keep an eye out for danger.

Everything decided, they began their search.

**xxx**

The exhausted search parties returned one by one. Spock and his team, who had searched three of the seven caves, returned to find Bones waiting with his team.

Upon their arrival Bones asked eagerly, "Any luck?"

Spock answered the question in negative and Bones sighed in disappointment.

"Jim comm'd to inform that he too didn't find anything worthwhile. He's on his way back." Bones murmured dejectedly.

Spock and Bones settled down to wait for Jim. They would have to rethink their whole strategy now.

**xxx**

As they were waiting for Jim to return, Spock noticed Bones looking at him from the corner of his eyes. He knew that Bones had been waiting for an opportunity to confront him ever since that almost kiss.

He turned to face Bones and stated in a firm voice, "I understand you have some personal matters to discuss with me."

Bones started grinning like the Cheshire cat and took his sweet time before asking, "So, what was all that about?"

Spock bestowed a cool and impassive look upon him. "I'm afraid you'll have to rephrase your question in a better way. What exactly do you mean by 'all that'?"

The grin on Bones' face did not vanish at all. In fact it grew even more, if that was even possible. "I know what you're trying to do, you hobgoblin. Your underhanded tactics won't work this time. So spill, what was all that about?"

Suppressing a sigh, Spock decided to deal with the Doctor right then. Jim not only considered Bones his best friend, but also regarded him somewhat like a father figure. And though at first Spock had merely tolerated the man because of Jim, over the years he had grown on him and they had sort of bonded... over Jim.

Now, he held nothing but respect for the brash, courageous man and knew that it was reciprocated. But of course, none of them would ever admit to it.

"Jim is my mate and I'll soon be claiming him as mine," Spock stated in a perfectly calm voice but it held an undercurrent of warning Bones couldn't mistake.

Ignoring the warning, Bones rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yeah, that was pretty clear from the way you were acting. But what I want to know is what made you realize it so suddenly. You've been crazy about him for long enough, after all."

To say that Spock was shocked at Bones' seemingly random statement would have been an understatement. "Were you aware of this?" he asked in a faint voice.

Bones smirked, enjoying this way too much. "Oh yes, I was perfectly aware of your 'feelings'," he replied.

**xxx**

Truth be told, Bones knew better than most just how deeply Spock's feelings ran; especially when it came to Jim.

After all, he was there when Spock had almost strangled Jim on the bridge of the Enterprise.

He had seen him almost kill Khan with his bare hands.

He had also seen him break a Romulan's hand when the bastard tried groping a drunken Jim.

And he was the one who had to kick Spock out of the operating room when he was fighting to save Jim's life. He was the one who had to make sure Spock left Jim's bedside in order to eat, meditate and bathe. That had been an accomplishment in itself because Spock had taken to sitting beside Jim for hours, just staring at him... as if committing Jim's face to his memory.

Bones scarcely remembered those days as he had been functioning on an autopilot. They had passed almost in a blur. But he remembered the choking terror and brief flashes of sweet hope.

Jim's body had been rejecting Khan's blood. The situation had deteriorated to the point where every breath Jim took could be his last. Bones had himself felt the need to be constantly near Jim; to not let him out of his sight even for a second.

And then finally, Jim's body stopped fighting against what it needed to heal. It was sheer relief which had rushed through him and only then he allowed himself the luxury of breaking down. The man who was his best friend, his brother, his son was going to be fine.

Jim had done the impossible again. And this time he had defeated the undefeatable… death.

All the love and adoration he held for Jim had been apparent on his face. And when he looked up, he had seen his feelings mirrored on Spock's face.

Yes, he knew exactly how much Spock loved Jim.

**xxx**

As Bones came out of his musings, he heard Spock say, "Nyota dissolved our relationship."

'Finally,' Bones thought, cheering inside. He did feel a bit guilty for being so damn happy about a situation which was sure to make Uhura miserable, but it did not really matter as this would make Jim happy. And Jim was his first priority.

"Why?" Bones asked him softly .

"She told me that she was letting me go because she had finally realized that she never had me all along." Spock stopped for a while before continuing, "I finally realized that too. It was Jim, it always had been."

Bones smiled, genuinely happy for his hobgoblin. But still, he felt the need to caution him for one last time. There would be no going back after this.

"I hope you do realize what you are signing up for. It will be a lifetime of chaos, mischief and mayhem. So if you are looking for something logical..."

"I do realize," Spock replied cutting Bones off, his voice firm and steady. "It will be a lifetime of happiness."

**xxx**

Jim returned pretty disheartened. The caves had been completely devoid of anything of interest. They hadn't even found a lab coat, much less a live scientist.

As he approached Spock and Bones, he saw them having some sort of a heart to heart session. He wondered what it was about while literally dragging himself towards them. He cursed the fucking unbearable heat of the planet for sucking all the energy out of him.

Groaning in misery, he hoped that Bones and Spock would have some better ideas because, frankly, he had run out of them.

Although… why the hell was Spock glaring at him? Ah great, now Bones was scowling at him too.

He barely reached them when Spock demanded, "Captain, may I know where your headwear is?"

'_Huh?' _Jim belatedly realized that he had lost his headwear… again. He had really hated the stupid headwear since the very beginning. But he reluctantly admitted to himself that as bad as it had been, it was still better than this sweltering heat.

He glanced sheepishly at Spock and smiled placatingly. "Well, I do remember taking it off in the cover of one these caves... I guess I forgot to put it on."

He stopped himself from squirming under Spock's stony gaze.

"I… umm…," he tried once again but Spock cut him off.

"Both Doctor McCoy and I have explained to you nine times by now that the headwear is necessary to protect you from the sun's rays," Spock chided in a stern voice.

Bones nodded, agreeing whole-heartedly with Spock. "What the hell Jim? Do you want to get a heat stroke?" Bones hissed.

Jim glared at Spock for chastising him in front of Bones and at Bones for agreeing with him. Even after all these years of running a ship together, Jim's health was the only thing they ever agreed upon.

Too tired to deal with this shit, he replied testily, "Thank you for your kind consideration but I can take care of myself perfectly well, Spock. And I am NOT a child, Bones. So back off."

Because sticking his tongue out at them would not really help his case at that point, Jim consoled himself by flipping them the bird.

Bones sighed heavily and looked heavenwards. "Yeah, good going Jim. That was really mature."

He got a snarled 'shut-up' and a stink eye for his efforts.

Spock stared at Jim unblinkingly for a few moments before replying in a voice filled with quiet menace, "As you wish, Captain. It is your call, of course. But if your body temperature reaches 39 degree Celcius and above, according to the Starfleet Regulations you will be unfit to lead this mission. And as the acting captain I'll personally see you escorted back to the Enterprise."

Bones covered his laugh with a cough. The hobgoblin was good, he thought grudgingly; really good. And if looks could kill, the hobgoblin would have died a very painful death by then.

Finally, Jim conceded with a sigh, "I'm sorry, all right? I have no idea where that stupid thing is. Do we have an extra?" He knew that Spock was dead serious and would most definitely carry out his threat.

In fact, he had been noticing this change in Spock ever since the Khan incident. Earlier, because both of them were equally headstrong, they had quickly learnt to make concessions in each other's behalf. Yes, they often butted their heads, but they came to an understanding pretty quickly too. It was one of the reasons why they were such an efficient command team.

Spock had taught Jim to look before leaping. And from Jim, Spock had learnt how to take leaps of faith. They were perfectly balanced together.

Now, they were closer than ever before. But when the matter came to his safety, there was simply no middle ground to be reached with Spock; no compromise to be made. Jim had learnt it the hard way to relinquish a battle or two in order to win his wars.

'_Stupid, protective Vulcan_,' he thought with fond exasperation.

"There are no extra head wears. You'll wear mine instead," Spock said it so matter-of-factly; as if it was of no consequence that he was putting Jim's well being ahead of his. He took off his headwear and placed it over Jim's head.

Jim, of course, kicked up a fuss over it as he couldn't let Spock suffer in his stead. But all his protests fell on deaf ears.

Spock sighed and cautioned, "Jim, cease your struggles. I am much more adapted to these conditions than you."

"Jesus Spock. Stop ordering me around," Jim snapped angrily; still trying to get the bloody thing off but Spock was thwarting all his moves easily.

"You should not have committed the mistake of losing yours then," Spock countered.

Jim opened his mouth to retort but stopped as Bones loudly cleared his throat.

"I'm sure that both of you are really enjoying all this foreplay, but some of us actually want to find the god-damned scientists so we can get out of this god-damned planet," Bones nearly shouted; exasperated beyond belief.

Jim blushed, once again, and silently vowed to make Bones pay for all this grief. Spock took a step back and folded his hands behind his back.

Bones smirked.

**xxx**

Jim took a few moments to gather his composure before beginning their discussion.

"Okay, so what do you both think must have happened that day? They must have taken shelter inside one of those caves, even though we could not find any evidence supporting that. My gut says that something must have happened after that."

Jim paused to look at Bones and then at Spock. If his heart had started beating faster than usual, it was only because of some undiagnosed heart disease, dammit. It was certainly not because of some pointy eared bastard who liked to order him around.

Meanwhile, Spock's powerful mind was racing to compute all the possible options one by one. So far, all the evidence they had found supported Jim's hypothesis. But, the main question still remained unanswered – Where were all the scientists and their security team?

The greatest possibility which arose was that they had been captured. But if they had been captured then who were behind it? How were they captured? More importantly... why?

The questions were many and the answers few.

"Abduction seems to be the most plausible scenario," Spock stated, "but no one has contacted Starfleet to negotiate the release of the scientists yet."

"I don't see how they could have been abducted off the planet, Spock. Starfleet is keeping a very strict eye upon this planet," Bones countered.

Spock gave a short nod in agreement. "You are correct, Doctor. I have come to the conclusion that there is a very low probability of the scientists being abducted by terrorists off this planet. Starfleet has been monitoring every spaceship in this planet's orbit and there have been no reports of anything suspicious. It would be most difficult to evade Starfleet's scrutiny. A more probable theory will be that the scientists and their security personnel are being held as hostages in this very planet."

Jim nodded in agreement. "Yeah, if they really have been abducted, then being held somewhere nearby would make much more sense. As for the abductors, they might be group of illegal miners who had discovered the Dilithium reserve before Starfleet."

Boned growled in irritation at all these might be scenarios. Personally, he was of the opinion that the whole thing was pretty damn weird.

"Actually this whole thing smells fishy to me," Jim stated, echoing Bones' thoughts. "The security officers assigned to the scientists were one of the best; so why couldn't they perceive the threat? And how come they did not even put up a struggle during the abduction? We haven't found even a single sign of a scuffle. Even if they were distracted because of the ionic storm, they couldn't have been overpowered so easily."

"Well… they might have been dead," Bones stated ominously.

"Captain, such speculations will lead us nowhere. I recommend a full-scale search of this whole area before we reach any conclusion and…," Spock stopped abruptly when they were interrupted by the Security Chief Lieutenant Hendorff.

Greeting all three of them, he spoke, "Captain, I apologize for the interruption but I was just contacted by the Enterprise. They have found an unusual build up of ions in the stratosphere and there is a strong possibility of an ion storm occurring. They think we should leave this planet as soon as possible because they won't be able to beam us out after the storm begins."

After relaying that vital information, Hendorff a.k.a 'Cupcake' patiently waited for further orders.

Jim bit his lips, thinking about the dilemma. On one hand, he did not want to leave without finding about the whereabouts of the scientists and the security assigned to them. And on the other, he did not want to put his officers at risk by staying on this potentially risky planet during an ion storm.

He turned towards Spock, looking for counsel like always.

And Bones let them do what they were best at… being a command team.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Officer Lara Kent, the Transporter Chief of the Enterprise, waited for confirmation from her Captain before locking on the homing signals of the communicators of all the Officers down on the planet Zodura II.

One of her officers warned her about the ion storm and urged her to hurry. The charged particles which had been gathering in the stratosphere had taken up speed, indicating the onset of the storm.

"Locking on your signals," she informed the landing party in a monotonous voice.

Over the communicator, she heard her Captain's voice giving the order to energize.

"Beaming you up," she muttered.

Everything was fine until all of a sudden, she began to lose three of those signals. She stiffened in alarm and then her fingers started flying over the transporter controls. But all her efforts were proving to be in vain.

"Damn it!" she cursed. "I'm losing them… Shit… I… I've lost them. I lost three of them."

Stunned, she stared at the transporter platform as figures began to materialize on it. Three were missing, of course.

And those missing three were her commanding officers and the CMO.

She gulped.

**... to be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Last –**_

_"Damn it!" she cursed. "I'm losing them… Shit… I… I've lost them. I lost three of them."_

_Stunned, she stared at the transporter platform as figures began to materialize on it. Three were missing, of course._

_And those missing three were her commanding officers and the CMO._

_She gulped._

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Bones yelled at a very sheepish looking Jim; all the while, looking around wildly in near panic. They had long since got rid of their desert protective clothing. "Damn it, Jim! Were you even thinking at all? Just take a look around and tell me… Where the hell are we?"

Bones spread his arms out wide, gesturing towards the thick growth of vegetation all around them.

"Err… Somkinofafrest?" Jim mumbled unintelligibly.

"What?" Bones thundered.

Heaving a pitiful sigh, Jim spoke much more comprehensibly this time. "Some kind of a forest, Bones."

Bones groaned in utter exasperation. "Jim, you do realize that I have a pair of perfectly functioning eyes, don't you? I can very well see that we are in a damn freaking forest! All thanks to your idiocy, of course, which this time has managed to land us here."

Jim winced; more so because he had to agree with Bones on this one. In retrospection, he could clearly see that he had once again rushed headlong and blindly into danger.

The ion storm had picked up in intensity very fast, calling for a swift decision. Spock's opinion, staying back on the planet Zodura II during the storm would only prove to be a liability, could not be refuted; especially since the storm had made taking cover in one of the rock caves a necessity within a short span of time.

Another few minutes could have left them stranded on a potentially dangerous planet with little hope of backup or escape. In such a situation Jim had to give the orders for their return to the Enterprise.

Once they were all outside, having to leave the relative safety of the rock cave as it would have provided too much of an interference with their signals, they took their respective positions in order to be beamed up. It was then that Jim had noticed something rather unusual…

Unbelievably, the walls of the rock cave heated up and something inside the cave began giving out a faint illumination. The more the storm grew in strength, the brighter the light being emitted became. Jim's instincts began screaming at him that searching for the source of light would finally solve the mystery of the disappearing scientists.

By then everyone had become aware of the unusual phenomenon.

"Captain," Spock had cautioned, already anticipating Jim's next move. Bones tried lunging for him instead.

Jim easily dodged Bones and had gone bounding towards the source of the mysterious light. But only after throwing some orders for the rest of the team to proceed to Enterprise, of course. He would never risk the life of his men.

He had not even realized that Bones and Spock had broken the formation and were hot on his heels as he ran into the cave.

He remembered reaching a previously inconspicuous archway (very much noticeable then) which seemed to be giving out the uncanny light. Various glowing symbols adorned the archway and the next he knew, there was a flash of light and the three of them had been transported… here.

Wherever 'here' was.

Atleast, his instincts had been right once again. They now knew where the scientists had disappeared off to and why their security had been so ineffective in protecting them.

**!**

The place they had been transported to quite resembled the Terran tropical rainforests, the elaborate stratification being common to both.

The forest floor was covered with a dense undergrowth of plants resembling the mosses and liverworts. But in place of green, most of them were reddish-brown in colour while some were nearly black. Thorny vines and creepers crept around the trunks of a number of large trees.

The thorns looked pretty painful by the way, and Jim made a mental note to stay away from them.

Some of the plants had familiar colours; like the ferns and few bushes. In some places the ferns and bushes had grown together in such a clustered manner that trying to create a path through them would have been nigh impossible; but they were sparse enough in some other areas to create a passage without using a machete.

Many trees had rich, green leaves with brown trunks and some were even flowering. Some had ripe, luscious looking fruits hanging from the branches.

The various sounds of the resident fauna could be heard from every direction. Jim stared as a large swarm of two-headed multicoloured butterflies flew past him. A troop of small sized, four-eyed monkeys were screeching as they swung in the low hanging branches of some of the smaller trees. Not liking their unfamiliar presence, they would occasionally throw small red coloured fruits at them.

One of those hit Bones and Jim had to cover his laugh with a cough.

What little of the sky could be seen above the dense canopy was bright blue in colour. And the teasing sunlight filtering in through the canopy layer was creating quite a mystical effect.

One could almost forget that they were in an unknown place with no means of escape; and dwelling within it were many unknown dangers.

Well… 'almost' being the keyword.

**!**

"Jim, are you even listening to me? I swear to all that is holy that my hands are just itching to shake some sense into you. What were you saying before? Oh yes… _It's going to be a straightforward mission_… _What can possibly go wrong in a fucking desert with almost no sentient beings or dangerous life forms?" _Bones mimicked in a high pitched voice.

Jim gave him an affronted look. "Hey, I'm pretty sure that I don't sound like that."

Bones carried on his tirade, completely ignoring Jim. "I'll tell you what can go wrong… James **Trouble** Kirk!"

Apparently, Bones had not got his pound of flesh yet.

Jim listened to Bones with only half an ear as he gathered up the courage to deal with Spock, who was busy taking stock of their unknown surroundings. And while Bones went on ranting… Spock was rather quiet, scarily so.

But even though Spock had not uttered a single word yet, the vibes coming off him had Jim feeling like a naughty two year old who had disobeyed his mother. And that was ridiculous. It hadn't been his fault, dammit! How was he supposed to know that as soon as they would draw close to the light source, they would be transported here?

If anything, it was Spock who should be sorry for ignoring him, Jim thought while giving Spock a glare behind his back.

Anyway, Jim magnanimously decided to forgive Spock for his gaffe. Let no one ever say that he couldn't be the better or more mature person.

"Errr… Spock," Jim tried to capturing the clearly irate Vulcan's attention. For a second, Jim wondered if Spock would completely disregard his call. But then Spock stopped whatever he was doing and turned an impassive gaze upon him.

Yup, Jim was in pretty deep shit, indeed. He cleared his throat before asking in a soft voice, "So, umm… do you have any idea where we are?"

"Negative," Spock answered, his stony visage not faltering even for a second. "The only fact that can be ascertained is that we are no longer on Zodura II. In truth, we might not be in the same galaxy."

Bones groaned in distress dramatically before asking, "Okay, so that stone thing must have transported us here. But I don't get how?"

Spock answered without taking his hard, piercing gaze off Jim, "That 'stone thing' was evidently a portal."

Bones gasped while Jim's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"A time portal? For real?" Jim asked, incredulity dripping from his voice.

Spock gave him a look which clearly stated what Spock thought of his question.

"A time portal would have transported us into the planet's past and I have already stated that we are no longer on Zodura II. What transported us here was a space portal."

Jim and Bones had been shocked before, but now they appeared utterly confused.

"What the hell is a space portal?" Bones asked, echoing Jim's thoughts.

Spock suppressed a sigh and began to explain, "A space portal can send any animate or inanimate object from one planet to the other. Unlike the transporters we use, its use is not restricted by distance between the points of entry and exit. Nor does it need to locate objects via communicator signals. It locates an object by analyzing the energy signals instead."

"Now wait a second," Jim spoke up, interrupting him. "If such space portals do exist, then how come no one uses them? Why do we always waste such huge amount of energy and money on starships?"

With another hard look in Jim's direction, Spock answered his query. "There are several reasons for that, Captain. Not only is the commissioning of such a portal very complicated, but it also requires a huge amount of power in order to function. If you'll reflect back then you'll find that the portal in Zodura II was indiscernible and ineffective until the ion storm gained adequate potency. Once again, it must have been the piezoelectric effect which generated enough energy to power the portal."

Not quite satisfied, Jim opened his mouth to ask for further clarification but Spock cut him off by continuing, "However, the main limitation of such portals is that it cannot be constructed randomly. The two planets must share more than sixty percent compatibility to be connected by portals."

"How the hell do you know so much about space portals? We haven't even heard of them," Bones groused. The hobgoblin had once again managed to impress him, albeit reluctantly.

Jim nodded, wanting Spock to continue. And it was certainly not because Spock looked super hot when he was in the strict Professor mode. His deep voice was enough to send pleasant shivers up the spine of his students. Not his, though. He was immune to his friend's attractiveness. Of course he was.

Gritting his teeth, he shifted uneasily trying to alleviate some of his tension; and refocused upon Spock… err… space portals.

**!**

"...The knowledge of creating space portals is an ancient one and the practice was discontinued long before humans began their interstellar travels. Their discontinuation became a necessity because of large security breaches which began to be associated with them," Spock explained.

"But that means that Zodura II must have had a civilization once upon a time," Bones remarked.

"Affirmative, Doctor. Either the civilization became extinct or they all migrated to this place," Spock replied.

"Yeah, but why?" Bones wondered.

If Spock were fully human, he would have definitely rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they had their reasons, Doctor."

"That's right," Jim nodded thoughtfully and then seemed to perk up. "Hey, if one portal brought us here, then there must be another which would take us back, right?"

Both Jim and Bones turned their hope-filled eyes towards Spock and eagerly waited for his confirmation.

"The portals were usually constructed in pairs. Therefore, there is a high possibility that a portal which can transport us back to the planet Zodura II would be somewhere ain the vicinity."

Hearing that, Jim burst into action. "Great, then all we have to do is to find the scientists and then the portal and then go back. Let's go."

Jim started walking in a random direction, expecting Spock and Bones to follow him. But then someone caught a hold of his uniform and yanked him back roughly. Losing his balance he lurched backwards, and would have fallen if not for the hard, unforgiving body supporting him.

"Wha… what… Spock?" Jim sputtered, his face involuntarily heating up.

"May I know where are you headed to, Captain?" Spock questioned with a quirk of his eyebrow; not bothering to release Jim.

"Uh... to look for the scientists and the portal," Jim stated, confused over Spock's behaviour.

Spock's eyes flashed in anger. "It would soon be dark and we are in an unfamiliar, dangerous locale. We need to secure food, water and shelter before the sun goes down. I suggest you to stop acting in such an illogical and immature manner. You are not only leading yourself but also others to danger."

Jim stiffened. This time the heat suffusing his cheeks was due to anger and mortification. He wrenched himself away from Spock.

Knowing that this could end in a very bad way, Bones tried to diffuse the situation. "Jim," he called out in a placating manner. "The hobgoblin does not really mean that. He's just worried about you."

But of course, he was thoroughly ignored.

Jim stared at Spock, his eyes filling with defensive anger... and hurt. And just like Bones had predicted, Jim lashed out at Spock. "Let me make something very clear to you, Commander. Before this, I did not even know that things like space portals existed. And thus I had no idea that something like this could happen..."

"You… broke the formation and reached a decision by yourself which placed you in danger..."

"So what? I have done it before and..."

"And died, Captain. You were dead. And you could have died again today. Are you so very eager to follow in your father's footsteps and become a martyr hero?"

Bones was stunned. This he had not predicted. Unable to interfere, he could only watch the proceedings like a train wreck happening right before him.

Jim could scarcely breathe. Time and again, loads of people had made assumptions about his competency as a Captain, taking his youth for a weakness. People compared him to the great George Kirk all the time. The hero who had saved everyone but his son. Hearing Spock… his Spock… say such a thing, it felt as if someone had ripped the heart out of his chest. But he was not going to show Spock how much his words had hurt. He still had his pride, after all.

Jim finally replied after getting his voice back, "A martyr I may be, but I do not leave anyone behind, do I?"

Bones groaned. Of all the stupid things, Jim had to bring up Spock's mother. Spock clenched his teeth, his eyes flashing in warning.

"I ordered everyone else to return to the ship. I did not ask you to come after me, did I? Nor did I ask Bones. I could have–"

"What could **you** have done if I or the Doctor were not here?" Spock countered in a scathing tone of his voice.

Jim hissed, nearly punching Spock. "I am the Captain of the Enterprise and I assure you Commander that I am very much capable of looking after myself. I do not need–"

"We're trapped in a dangerous forest and your first course of action was to go looking for the scientists. You–"

"I DO NOT NEED YOU!" Jim screamed, shoving Spock with all his strength. He made a disgusted noise when Spock did not move even an inch. The bastard did not have even that much decency.

In fact, it seemed as if Spock had frozen after hearing his declaration.

"I do not need you," he repeated in a low, hoarse voice; his eyes warring with Spock's. "I'll go and search for the scientists on my own. I wouldn't want to risk the two of you any longer. See you and Bones at the portal."

Before Spock or Bones could even react, he turned on his heels and took off running; not knowing where he was going or how he was going to search for the scientists in this forest. Not knowing and not caring.

He just wanted to get away from Spock.

… **to be continued.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Last**__-_

_"I DO NOT NEED YOU!" Jim screamed, shoving Spock with all his strength. He made a disgusted noise when Spock did not move even an inch. The bastard did not have even that much decency._

_In fact, it seemed as if Spock had frozen after hearing his declaration._

_"I do not need you," he repeated in a low, hoarse voice; his eyes warring with Spock's. "I'll go and search for the scientists on my own. I wouldn't want to risk the two of you any longer. See you and Bones at the portal."_

_Before Spock or Bones could even react, he turned on his heels and took off running; not knowing where he was going or how he was going to search for the scientists in this forest. Not knowing and not caring._

_He just wanted to get away from Spock._

* * *

"Jim, STOP," Bones shouted out, but to his dismay it was too late as Jim had already sprinted off to God-knows-where. The kid could be damn fast when he wanted to be.

He growled in frustration and glared at the hobgoblin. Seriously, if Spock was not a Vulcan who hated physical contact of any kind, he would have tried knocking some sense into him in the literal way. The fact that Spock was about three times stronger and a master of martial arts was not stopping him in the least. Yeah, that's right. He was simply culturally sensitive like that.

As for Jim, he couldn't wait to get his hands on that idiot. But of course, he had to catch him first.

Bones walked past Spock, seething quietly, and had gone quite a distance when he noticed that Spock was not following him. Spock was still standing where he had left him, staring unseeingly towards where Jim had run off to.

Irritated to his core, Bones barked at Spock, "What the hell are you waiting for now? An engraved invitation? Come on, let's go. He mustn't have gone very far."

Bones scowled when Spock hesitated instead of coming along at once.

After a moment though, Spock seemed to have arrived at a decision. "You'll have to continue on your own, Doctor," Spock declined in a firm voice. "You must have heard his proclamation of not requiring my assistance."

Bones stilled and stared unblinkingly at Spock for a moment before bursting into raucous laughter. "God… only… Jim can… do it… I swear," he managed to gasp out in between his bursts of laughter.

Spock narrowed his eyes dangerously and stated in a flat voice, "I am unable to understand the reason behind your amusement, Doctor. You were present when he loudly proclaimed that."

Bones sobered up then. Shaking his head in exasperation, he explained, "What I meant to say was that only Jim can take logic out of a Vulcan. Look at you, where the hell is that famous Vulcan logic of yours? What happens to it whenever Jim is involved?"

Spock looked away clenching his teeth and Bones looked towards the heaven. '_Lord_ _grant me the patience for dealing with imbeciles_,' he prayed.

He had so **not** signed up for this.

Heaving a sigh, he asked, "Look Spock, do you really think that Jim is incompetent and not fit to lead?"

Yeah, the question was blunt and tactless; so what? He was doctor, not a goddamn diplomat.

Spock turned towards him then, surprise evident in his eyes. "Negative. Wherever did you acquire that ridiculous notion?" he asked in a cold, clipped voice.

Evidently, it was a day full of surprises and it was Bones' turn to be surprised.

"**You** are asking **me** where I got that ridiculous notion! You? The one who implied it?" Bones asked in an incredulous voice.

"Need I remind you then? My pleasure," – he plunged the knife in hard _– "What could __**you**__ have done if I or the Doctor were not _here_? _Those were your exact words. And you even brought up his father. Really, Spock? What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?"

Bones did not feel any remorse over pointing out the cold, hard facts. Hell, the hobgoblin deserved it and he took great satisfaction in watching Spock struggling to maintain his composure.

Bones pitilessly twisted the knife in even deeper by commenting, "So you do realize how much you've hurt Jim. Vindictiveness is not a Vulcan quality, is it?"

Spock flinched and Bones finally relented. "Jim simply lashed out in response, Spock. You know him; he is probably beating himself up for mentioning your mother just like you are for mentioning George Kirk."

Bones efforts were rewarded when Spock gave him a curt nod and spoke, "Let us proceed."

"Spock," Bones had one last thing to add, "tell him why you did it." All the while he wondered what the world was coming to when he was the one handing out relationship advises.

**!**

Jim ran for as long as he could before having to stop because his lungs were screaming for air; one of the reasons being the low atmospheric oxygen content of the planet. He took in huge gulps of air and waited for his breathing to return to normal. As he waited, the haze of hurt and anger surrounding him ebbed a bit.

To tell the truth, his own behaviour made him cringe a little. Running away like that had been pathetic. But those words from Spock aka the Vulcan brute had hurt like a bitch and he hadn't able to think clearly at that time. Spock shouldn't have brought up his father. _Just like I shouldn't have brought up his mother._

Jim sighed and he decided to wait for Bones and the brute to catch up to him. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that they would follow him.

And so he made sure that his communicator was on, it would help the other two to pinpoint his location. In the interim looked for a relatively safe place to rest. He chose the low hanging branches of a nearby tree after making sure that no painful looking pointy vines were around.

In this way he could be safe from predators, well most of them, and would also get a better vantage point.

Settling in, he took the time to finally reflect upon what had happened.

_"And died, Captain. You were dead. And you could have died again today." _Spock's voice echoed in his mind. At that time he had been too angry to take notice of the myriad of emotions in Spock's voice. But now he could easily separate the fear from all the underlying anger and irritation Spock's voice had portrayed.

Fear... for him.

"Spock," the name slipped out softly from his parted lips.

**!**

The boy ran through the forest almost gracefully, twisting and turning… skilfully evading the ravenous jaws of the three legged beasts chasing after him.

Though it was illogical to harbour a strong dislike towards one's physical attributes, the boy had never really liked his petite build. But now, he was extremely grateful for it as it helped him to maneuver easily through the thick foliage as he ran for his life.

A multitude of scratches and small cuts now adorned the exposed areas of his body, but it was better than being mauled to death. Although strictly speaking, anything would be better than that.

However, he had been running for quite a while now and was quickly tiring. But those creatures after him still seemed to be dead set on making him their next meal.

One of those creatures came too close for his comfort and he willfully tamped down his rising fear.

"Fear is illogical… Fear accomplishes nothing… Fear is an obstacle… Fear clouds logic…," the boy muttered under his breath like a mantra.

His mind was busy analyzing the situation in order to find a solution even as his legs pumped forwards to the best of their waning abilities.

'_I need to escape these animals soon.'_

He went over all the possibilities in his mind and decided that the best option would be to jump and catch hold of some of the low hanging branches of trees.

But unfortunately, all his plans went awry when his foot snagged on some tree roots. He fell flat on his face, the fall jarring his very bones, and moaned loudly from the pain radiating throughout his body.

However, he didn't have the time to get back the wind which had been knocked out of him by the fall as the creatures had him surrounded by then… jaws snapping and growling… giddy at the prospect of a kill.

The boy then came to realize that he wouldn't live to see another day. Illogical, but he wanted his mum to hug him one more time and his dad to ruffle his hair like he always did. He wanted to know that they were safe.

Fear and despair overwhelmed him.

Just then one of those creatures leapt for him and its jaw closed around his left leg – tearing a scream out of his mouth…

**!**

"Did you find him? Please tell me that his communicator is on and we can track him," Bones implored, swatting aside another fern irritably. Why, oh why, did they have to land in a freaking jungle of all things, he did not know.

"Affirmative. I have located his signal; and it is stationary at the moment," Spock replied, passing his tricorder to Bones to take a look at the readings.

"Stationary? He wouldn't dare to throw it away, would he?" Bones hissed out and Spock tensed.

"It would be presumptuous of us to assume so," Spock said in reply. But after witnessing the raised brow on Bones' face, he amended, "You are correct, he wouldn't dare... if he knows what's good for him."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Bones muttered and then stiffened when Spock's entire countenance altered in the blink of an eye.

Spock plucked the tricorder out of Bones' hand and simultaneously pulled out his phaser in one seamless motion. After muttering a short command for Bones to follow him, he took off running in the direction of Jim's signal.

Bones rushed to catch him and had to shout his question out. "What's the damn hurry?"

"I heard a scream, definitely humanoid," Spock answered without breaking his stride

"Jim," Bones whispered in an uneven tone.

**!**

Jim was startled out of his musings when he heard some kind of a commotion going on somewhere near. He could distinctly hear growling and also some other sounds.

'_A group of predators must be chasing a prey,' _he thought, going on alert.

He strained his ears hoping to catch any other sound; but at that instant, irritated because of all the disturbances going on, several birds shrieked in warning before settling down once again.

Though Jim could swear that he heard a moan.

'_Could it be one of the scientists?' _he wondered. But before he could decide what to do next, a horrifying scream ripped through the air.

Jim pulled out his phaser and jumped down the tree…

… **to be continued.**

* * *

**tanseynz - **I was unable to PM you, and therefore would like to thank you here for your kind words.:)


	6. Chapter 6

Here's a new chapter which I hope you all will enjoy. Finally got some time to write. :D

**Please note that I have edited the story quite a lot in some places. So, I heavily encourage my old readers to reread at least the last two chapters.**

Thank you all for your love and patience!

* * *

The boy screamed as white hot agony lanced through his body. The situation he was in would have taken the fight out of most people by then. But it was simply not in his nature to give up.

As the initial shock of pain lessened, he could feel something digging in between his shoulder blades.

His dagger!

Dark eyes snapped open in determination.

Battling the pain away, he freed the dagger from his shoulder strap and took a deep breath. His shaking hands steadied; and his eyes quickly studied the animal in front of him.

_Exoskeleton: present. Organic? Metallic? Unknown. Head and abdomen covered. Neck vulnerable._

As quick as a lightening, he plunged the dagger into the beast's neck.

Howling in pain from the blow, the beast released his leg and jumped out of reach. Unfortunately, the beast had sunk its teeth into his leg pretty deep and thus had taken a chunk of his flesh along with it.

Another inadvertent scream left his mouth.

**!**

Jim increased his pace as another pain filled scream reached his ears. He could hear it loud and clear now.

He was close, very close.

He slowed his pace and furtively surveyed the scene in front of him. His eyes took in the three-legged animals and immediately noticed that their mouth had plenty of teeth. Yup, all very long and very sharp.

Then his eyes fell upon their unfortunate prey.

'_What the hell! That's a child,' _Jim gaped. The boy tilted his head in a certain way and Jim froze looking at pointed ear tips quite familiar to him.

'_A Vulcan child…'_

**!**

Seeing the condition of their pack mate, the other animals in the pack eyed the boy sprawled on the ground warily… assessing him anew. As for the boy, he did not have much strength remaining. He was rapidly losing blood and his body was going into shock. So he simply waited for the next attack with the knife held loosely in his hands.

It was a commendable but pointless effort on his part.

Unless and until a miracle happened, the breaths he was taking would be his last. And while his Vulcan side scoffed at the idea of miracles, knowing that they were illogical, his human side couldn't help wishing and hoping for one.

Another beast, perhaps the leader of the pack, growled at him. Its intelligent eyes correctly assessed his weakening condition and dismissed the notion of him being a threat any longer.

It crouched with the help of its single fore-limb and two hind limbs.

'_Interesting; the forepaw is of a much greater size in order to increase the stability_,' the boy thought dispassionately. He was too weak and tired to be afraid any longer.

And then the beast lunged for him, its jaws wide open and ready for kill. It was aiming for his throat this time.

And in a last bid of survival he brought the knife up, even knowing he was going to lose.

**!**

"Damn it," Jim cursed and brought up his phaser, firing at the beast which had lunged for the boy's throat. It was not much of a plan, but he had run out of time. A second of hesitation on his part could result in the boy's death.

As always, his aim was true. The boy's lethal knife followed his shot after a few precious seconds and Jim had to marvel at the boy's resilience.

With their leader down, the pack scattered. All of them trying to locate the new source of threat and Jim took advantage of the chaos. He made a beeline for the boy and seeing that he was in no condition to even walk, much less run, hoisted him up onto his shoulders. Blindly firing a few more shots at the beasts, he broke into a run.

"Faster," the boy gasped out after a while, "they are gaining on us."

Jim tried increasing his pace but damn it, the boy sure was heavier than he looked. And unfortunately, he did not possess superhuman strength. _Where was Spock when he needed him? _

The dense undergrowth certainly did not help either. Neither did the low atmospheric oxygen of the planet.

"Towards your left. There should be a river up ahead. Dan said they don't like water," the boy informed him and even those few words left him wheezing. Jim realized that the boy required medical attention soon or he would not survive.

Cursing silently, he obligingly turned towards his left. Although he had no idea who Dan was, he would have to accept his words at face value. He simply had no better plan.

And so Jim increased his pace even though he was tiring.

Suddenly the boy's jubilant voice broke out, "Yes… they are hesitating… even slowing down…"

Jim silently thanked whichever deity was watching over them. He did it a moment too soon though, because the next second… he tripped.

**!**

Jim's curse was drowned by the boy's shrill scream and for a second, Jim felt so frustrated that he could scream himself.

He was about to get up when the cavalry finally arrived.

Spock was sprinting towards them from the opposite direction with Bones following a few feet behind him. Spock's face seemed carved from granite, but his eyes were blazing with determination. Jim knew it was to protect him and his heart beat a tiny bit faster.

Spock shouted out a single word, "Down."

Jim dropped flat to the ground instantly and a volley of phaser shots flew above him. Bones caught up to Spock a few seconds later and the intensity of the shots increased.

Jim took the opportunity to greedily gulp some much needed air into his lungs while trying to assess the boy's condition from his position simultaneously. It seemed that the boy had finally lost his consciousness.

"Damn it! That's not good," Jim cursed. "Not good at all."

**!**

After a minute or so of continuous firing, the pack decided to retreat in search of an easier prey. They had to accept defeat after a lot of them were either killed or injured. Their growls soon became naught but a faint sound in the distance.

Spock ceased his firing and signalled Bones to copy. Both he and Bones then made a beeline for Jim and the stranger accompanying him.

Once they were near enough, their eyes alighted upon the person Jim had been carrying. He was a young Vulcan male… a severely injured young Vulcan male.

Spock's only reaction was momentary widening of his eyes; Bones hissed out a litany of curses.

"Only you… I swear Jim… only you. You must have been alone for fifteen or so bloody minutes. How did you manage all this in that short time frame?" Bones asked him, scowling. Without waiting for an answer, he unceremoniously shoved Jim away from the boy in order to check his condition.

While Bones used his medical tricorder to scan the boy, Jim gave a quick rundown on what had happened. After he was finished, Spock surmised that the boy could be a part of the group they were searching for and that he would be vital to the completion of their mission.

"Will he be okay Bones?" Jim asked, worried. It was not only because of the mission. He had really liked the boy's spunk and would like to know him better. Not to mention, he was part of an endangered species.

"He'll live," Bones huffed once his scan was complete. "Don't just stand there like a spare end. Take off his trousers and be careful of his injury. " Shaking his head, Jim complied with Bones' instructions while Spock stood guard.

They were out in the open and none of them liked the fact. Just like Jim had done before, climbing a tree would have been the safest possible action. But doing so with the boy unconscious and bleeding to death was so not happening.

Taking another device out his medkit, Bones began treating the boy's wound.

"You carry a vascular regenerator in you medkit?" Jim asked in amazement.

"Jim," Bones growled out without looking away from what he was doing, "with the amount of trouble you and the hobgoblin manage to land yourselves in, I carry a lot of stuff you won't find in any other medkit. Now do me favour and shut up. Go stand guard with Spock or something. I said he'll live but it is going to take a lot of work."

With that Bones gave his complete attention to his patient.

**!**

Jim rolled his eyes at the rude dismissal. Knowing Bones, the boy was in the best possible hands. And so, taking a deep breath, Jim turned to face Spock.

A soft gasp escaped his lips when he found Spock standing close to him, much too close. _When did he get so close?_ _Damn sneaky Vulcans._

Spock's heavy gaze ran all over his body, from the top of his head to the very bottom of his feet, cataloguing his injuries. Finally those chocolate brown eyes landed upon his and their gazes held.

Jim valiantly tried to fight the blush staining his cheeks but judging from the amused spark in Spock's eyes, he had failed.

Predictably, Jim's temper flared and he glared at Spock. Not letting Jim's glare faze him in the slightest, Spock stepped even closer to him and stated, "Your torso is injured, Captain."

"I'm fine," Jim grumbled, looking away from those eyes which always saw too much. "Just banged up a bit. You and Bones got here in time."

_I do not need you. _Jim winced internally, having to eat those words. What a load of bullshit.

"Captain," Spock countered, in the tone of voice which suggested that Jim was being stupid again, "fine has variable definitions. And your injuries are not fine. Please take off your uniform shirt. I will attend to your injuries."

Jim acquiesced with a long drawn sigh. He was too tired to argue with Spock over his injuries. Besides he knew that this would be an argument he would lose anyway.

Spock carefully assessed the numerous scratches on Jim's body. They seemed to be shallow enough even though some of them were bleeding. Spock retrieved the dermal regenerator from the medkit and went to work. Once he deemed that Jim's injuries were healed satisfactorily enough, he stepped back and allowed Jim to put on his shirt back.

An awkward silence stretched between the two of them.

"Captain, I must apologize."

Jim, for his part, could only stare at Spock in surprise. Finally, he found enough of his bearings to ask, "Don't Vulcans consider apologies to be illogical?"

Spock's lips twitched. "My… outburst was illogical too and I should have never mentioned your…"

Jim raised his hand, stopping Spock from continuing. "Yeah… well… let's call it even. I too shouldn't have mentioned your mother. And you were right anyway. I shouldn't have rushed into the cave without consulting anyone. Because of me, you and Bones are now in danger. Your outburst was understandable."

There, perfectly mature behaviour on his part_._ Jim silently cheered.

It was brought to an abrupt end by Spock's growl. He actually freaking growled. "Jim, do you really believe that the reason I lost my composure was because your actions landed us in danger? Or do you think it was because you acted on the spur of the moment?"

Jim nodded his head, non-verbally acknowledging those statements before taking a look at Spock's expression. He gasped and took a step back.

Spock was furious and was glaring at him. Well, the Vulcan equivalent of glaring but glaring it was.

"Allow me to clarify, Jim," Spock nearly bit out the words, his voice elevated beyond his normal tenor, "I did not lose my composure because Leonard or I were in danger because of your actions."

_Uh-oh_, Jim thought. Spock was clearly angry enough to not monitor his words. He would never have called Bones by his name otherwise.

Spock continued with his rant, taking another step forward when Jim took one back. "I lost my composure because you placed yourself in danger… again. You ordered me to return to Enterprise, which would have left you alone and unprotected."

Spock took another step forwards while grabbing Jim's chin. "I lost my composure because if I had been a second too late in following you, I wouldn't be here with you. I wouldn't be here to keep you safe. Do you understand the reason behind my outburst now?"

**!**

"Well, I hate to interrupt this, but we have a problem."

Both Jim and Spock sprang apart. Jim turned towards Bones, for once at a loss for words. Spock turned to face Bones too, hands clasped behind his back.

"What seems to be the problem, Doctor?" Spock enquired after a moment or two of tense silence.

Scowling at the two of them, Bones answered, "That kid is out of danger for now. But we need water… and food too. I used our last reserves of water on the kid. Also, we need to move somewhere safe. The kid has to rest and so do we."

Jim nodded grimly; immediately pushing aside the… conversation with Spock to the back of his mind. He began mulling over their next steps. "I did see some caves back there but we can't risk it, can we? Spock?"

"Negative," Spock added. "There is a high probability of some unknown species dwelling within it."

"So… we have no choice but to brave the trees," Jim said looking at Spock as it would fall upon him to get the boy up there. He was the strongest of them after all.

Spock nodded.

"Now just wait a second," Bones grumbled. "The kid's unconscious. How will Spock climb a ruddy tree with him? Strapped like a papoose?"

Jim couldn't help but chuckle at the image Bones' words painted before replying, "No Bones, we'll wait for him to regain consciousness. He'll be able to hold on while Spock climbs with him, won't he?"

Bones nodded his head wearily. "Let's hope so. We can strap him on for extra safety. So now we wait."

"Errr… no. We cannot wait. The longer we stay in the open, the longer we will be advertising ourselves as our prey."

Bones glanced between the two of them suspiciously before demanding in an impatient voice, "Jim, explain."

It was Spock who replied. "I will guide him back to consciousness by forming a mind meld with him."

"WHAT?" Bones thundered.

"My hearing is perfectly sound, Doctor. And I assure you the technique is perfectly safe when performed by a strong enough telepath," Spock informed Bones primly.

Bones glared at Spock for a while before giving in. He was too tired and hungry for this shit. "Fine," he muttered irritably, "do your Vulcan voodoo."

Spock nodded and approached the unconscious boy. Splaying his fingers to touch his psi points, Spock slipped into the boy's mind.

**!**

Bones winced; it was the first time he was witnessing a meld and couldn't help but wonder how invasive such a thing must feel. Wanting to share his thoughts with Jim, he turned towards him.

Jim was staring at Spock unwaveringly. His hands were clenched shut and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

Bones was shocked.

"Jim, are you jealous?" he asked disbelievingly.

Startled, Jim turned towards him. "What? Of… of course not. What the hell Bones? Why should I be jealous?" Jim denied hotly.

"Don't give me that innocent look, kid," Bones growled. "You are jealous. Have you done this with him before?"

Jim shifted uneasily, trying not to meet Bones' eye; but finally admitted the truth under the intensity of Bones' glare. "Uhm… yeah. A few times. Not a big deal, Bones."

At Bones' 'are you out of your goddamn mind' look, he hastily explained. "Look, it helps when I can't sleep because of my nightmares. It… keeps the nightmares away. Makes me feel safe." He almost mumbled the last part.

Bones simply stared at Jim for a while before heaving an exasperated sigh. "So, that was the new meditation technique you told me about… the one which was making you sleep better."

Jim had the decency to look sheepish.

"I don't like it. We'll talk about it later, Jim. But right now, you don't need to be jealous. You do know that you are the only one whom the hobgoblin adores, don't you?" Bones asked him a soft voice.

Jim gulped and answered in a shaky voice, "Stop talking crap Bones. He's going to bond with Nyota."

Bones smirked. "Is he? Are you sure?"

"Yes, damn it Bones, he is. He told me so himself," Jim snapped and just for a moment his pain was unmasked. The smirk slipped off Bones' lips as he glimpsed the terrible hurt in Jim's eyes. He gently clasped Jim's shoulders before replying, "Well, he has always been an idiot when it comes to you. Jim… they've broken up."

Jim froze; his face filled with disbelief and also a small bit of hope. "No. He would have told me. You're wrong."

Bones shrugged. "I'm sure he will, kid. And I'm not wrong. He told me about their break-up himself."

"Oh," Jim whispered softly before looking away. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Bones countered, looking pointedly at Jim.

"R… really?"

"Yes."

A smile broke out on Jim's face and it reminded Bones of the sun breaking over the horizon. Giving in to his urges, he pulled him into his arms. "You deserve all the happiness, kid."

**!**

"Am I interrupting something?" a cool voice enquired from behind.

Jim, who seemed intent on hugging the life out of Bones, pulled back and winked at Spock. Spock's brow ascended.

"Why yes, Spock. Can't you see we are bonding?" Grinning impishly, he laid a smacking kiss to Bones' cheek.

Spock clenched his teeth while Bones gulped nervously.

"What do you think you are doing? The damn hobgoblin is not exactly sane when it comes to you. Let go before he cracks," Bones implored and Jim burst out into laughter.

"Is the boy away awake?" Jim asked his disgruntled Vulcan after he got his breath back.

"Affirmative, Captain."

**!**

"Hey," Jim smiled down at the boy, "You alright? What's your name? I'm Jim."

"Hello," the boy croaked, blinking his eyes tiredly while trying to focus upon Jim. "My name is Denak. You are the one who saved me… Who is he?" he asked eyeing Bones who was busily scanning Denak's vitals with a medical tricorder.

Jim grinned and clapped Bones on his shoulders. "That's Bones, the best doc you will find."

"Do you mind? I'm working." Bones scowled.

Jim leaned closer to Denak , sharing a conspiratory look with him. "Worst bedside manners though and loves to torture me with his hypos."

Denak almost smiled before his eyes fell upon Spock.

"And that scary dude over there is Spock," Jim introduced. The said scary dude suppressed an exasperated sigh.

"Oh!" Denak's eyes widened with wonder as he looked from one to another. "Commander S'chn T'gai Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy and Captain James T. Kirk… You are very pretty," he blurted out the last line to Jim.

Bones sorted outright while Spock smirked in amusement. It was undetectable to the most eyes, but Jim was adept at reading Spock's non-expressions. Swallowing a groan, Jim glared at the other two until they quit having fun at his expense. They knew he hated being called pretty.

Forcing a smile back on his face, he turned back to face the boy. "Err… thanks Denak. We do have a lot to talk about. But first we need to get you in a safe place where you can rest and recover."

Denak nodded tiredly.

"Alright then, Spock will climb up a tree with you on his back. You'll just have to hold on for a bit. Any time you feel tired just ask him to stop, okay? We'll even tie you two together with a cloth for safety. Can you do that, Denak?"

He once again nodded his acceptance.

**!**

"Hey Spock, you alright?"

Spock looked up to find Jim eyeing him with a hard glint in his eyes. Both of them were at the river, filling their water bottles to tide them over the night; while Bones had stayed back to keep an eye on Denak who had fallen into a deep sleep. Fleshy red coloured fruits, which looked a lot like huge, ripened plums, had been gathered to serve as their dinner.

Spock had obsessively scanned the fruit; first to make sure that none of its components would be poisonous for either humans or Vulcans. Then to see if it had any allergens which Jim would react to. After all that, he forbade Jim from eating it until he and Bones sampled it.

Bones, the traitor, actually seemed to approve Spock's paranoia. Yup, paranoid was the word.

"I am well, Captain. May I know the reason why you are enquiring?" Spock asked with an arched brow.

Jim cocked his head and began tapping his chin with his index finger; as if thinking the question over. "Hmm… well I don't know, Spock. You did have to climb up a tree with Denak on your back. You might have pulled a muscle or two."

"I am not suffering from any injuries, Captain," Spock assured him.

"Oh… you sure?" Jim asked, voice dripping with innocence. "Sorry, had to ask. It's not like you tell me anything important."

Spock stiffened for a moment before stating, "You are displeased."

"Am I?" Jim asked with a fake smile. "By the way, how is your and Nyota's relationship going?"

Spock blinked, realizing the reason behind Jim's petulance. "You have been informed about our separation by Dr. McCoy," he stated and resumed filling the water bottles. No, he was not trying to avoid meeting Jim's eyes; because that would be illogical.

"Yes. Unlike you, he tells me important stuff," Jim bit out. "So why did you two break up?"

Spock continued filling the bottles, only giving a short reply, "It is complicated."

"Complicated my ass," Jim swore. Spock finally looked at Jim and found his eyes blazing with determination. "I'm freaking tired of ignoring the elephant in the room, Spock… and I'll punch you if you dare and ask why I am referring to a Terran mammal."

"Captain… we are on an assignment and it will be unbecoming, not to mention against the Starfleet regulations, for the Captain and his First Officer to focus upon their personal affairs," Spock intoned.

Astonished, Jim simply stared at Spock for a few seconds. But then he lost his temper. "You're such a fucking hypocrite, Spock. You flouted my direct orders to come after me. Where were your bloody regulations then?"

Spock's nostrils flared and he answered while gritting his teeth, "We will continue this discussion once we are back on board the Enterprise, Captain."

Never let it be said that there was a person alive who could out-stubborn Jim Kirk. "Don't 'captain' me. We're gonna speak about this now!"

"Captain…"

"No, I've had it Spock," Jim thundered. "We're going to settle this…"

"Captain, you must…"

Jim cut him off again. "Just tell me how you really feel…"

"Jim," Spock growled, "be quiet."

Jim closed his mouth with an audible snap, heeding both the command and urgency in Spock's voice.

"We are about to have company."

… **_to be continued._**

* * *

Hope you all liked it. Do share your thoughts.^_^

**tanseynz** \- I'm glad you liked it.:)

**Splashing Ore - ****giggles** They do? But it was such a teeny tiny one.:P

**Guest** \- Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for all you wonderful people.

But before that something about Denak - I had originally planned for him to be an orphan but then I decided not to do so. Now he now has loving parents.:P

Enjoy!

* * *

_**Back on the Enterprise…** _

"Nyota, may I join you?" Carol Marcus enquired softly.

Uhura looked up from her dinner tray and found Carol standing in front of her table. Though not in any mood for small talk, she reluctantly acquiesced.

Ignoring Uhura's less than enthusiastic demeanour, Carol sat down and for the next few minutes both of them ate in silence.

"Do you think they are okay?" Carol broke the silence by hesitantly asking the question gnawing at the back of every crew member's mind. The Captain, First Officer and CMO of the ship were respected far and wide and losing even one of them would be nothing short of a disaster. It was even more difficult for these two women as they had personal relationships with the men.

"Yes," Uhura replied promptly, her eyes daring Carol to disagree, "of course they are. We just have to wait out the ion storm and then we can get them back."

Uhura had complete faith in the trio. In fact, the only good thing about the situation was that even though they were stranded in an uninhabited planet, they were at least together. Separated, each of them was resourceful; but together they were nearly unstoppable.

Carol simply nodded her acceptance and Uhura relaxed.

After another round of tense silence, Carol finally mustered up the courage to ask what she had come for.

"Nyota, may I ask a personal question?" She asked, not meeting Uhura's eyes.

Uhura had a very good inkling about what Carol was going to ask and her lips pursed in annoyance. Her break-up with Spock was still not a common knowledge among the crew and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. After all, there was nothing wrong in wanting to delay the headache and heartache which was sure to follow all the wild gossips. And it was not as if Jim and Spock would jump into a relationship at once, would they?

Uhura snorted to herself. Who was she kidding? There wasn't a cat in hell's chance of them keeping their hands off each other now that she was out of the picture.

She blinked back her tears angrily. She would not cry. She was a successful and strong woman and she absolutely refused to dwell in the past.

"Let me guess," Uhura muttered sardonically, pausing to take another bite of her dinner, "you want to ask about the relationship between Spock and Jim."

Carol looked at Uhura in surprise before replying with a shy yes. "I was actually thinking about having a proper committed relationship with Jim. But, I don't know whether you have noticed it or not…the Commander…"

Uhura started laughing, albeit not a funny kind of laugh. It was rather… bitter.

Carol frowned. Had Nyota noticed the Commander's obsession with Jim too?

"Nyota, are you all right?"

Uhura stopped laughing as suddenly as she had begun. "Forget about having a relationship with Jim, Carol… unless you want a very pissed Vulcan after your blood."

Carol blinked and then stared at Uhura. She was flabbergasted by the blunt remark. Yes, she had suspected something like this; but the Commander was Nyota's boyfriend and she had been hoping that she was just blowing things out of proportion.

She should have trusted her instincts.

Every time she had tried monopolizing Jim's attention, she had failed because of the Commander. There was always some report to be completed, or something confidential to be discussed, or some random topic they had to argue about. She had even deluded herself thinking that Jim did not share the Commander's fixation. She should have realized that Jim would never be hers when he had screamed for the Commander in his dreams.

Finally, she heaved a long drawn sigh. "So I was correct all along. But… Commander Spock is your…"

Uhura interrupted her before she could complete her sentence. "No, we have ended our relationship."

"He broke-up with you?"

"Yes, you might say so," Uhura answered, giving up the pretence of eating and taking a sip of her coffee instead. "Though technically, it was I who approached him. He… he did not even try to stop me."

Carol winced. If she was feeling this much hurt over Jim and a relationship which could have been, surely it was much worse for Nyota.

She laid her hands over Uhura's and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You had been together for such a long time. How do you not hate him or Jim?"

Uhura nearly choked on her coffee.

"I cannot. You do not understand… in a way I always knew… Anyway, Spock's a friend I am not willing to lose. As for Jim, you cannot blame the sun for shining, can you? All he has to do is smile to turn Spock into a puddle of illogical goo. It is quite funny when you think about it."

Carol had to admire the way she was dealing with the situation. But… Nyota had always known? Not really understanding she asked her to explain.

Uhura shook her head, not ready to discuss that yet. It was too soon and the pain was too fresh.

"Not now. Maybe someday, after all this is over, I'll tell you. Ask me later."

Carol smiled sadly and nodded.

**XXX  
**

_ **Down in the unknown planet…** _

Bones used the tricorder to scan Denak and found that he was running a slight fever and having difficulty in breathing. Sighing, he reached for the antibiotics and tri-ox in his medkit. Gently tilting Denak's neck, he injected the hypos one after another. Despite what Jim thought, he was very much capable of administering the hypos painlessly. But Jim had to learn to stop being so goddamn reckless all the time. Not that his hypos had helped very much with that. Now he just did it for his own satisfaction.

With nothing else to do, Bones settled himself as comfortably as one could on a tree branch. Moments later he found himself staring at the boy beside him.

"What was Starfleet thinking?" Bones muttered to himself in disgust. "Allowing a kid to go on missions. He can't be more than fourteen."

"I would like you to know that I am seventeen standard years old." Denak opened his eyes and stared back at Bones. He had awoken when the doctor was administering the hypos; and though he wanted to go straight back to sleep, he couldn't let the gross exaggeration of how young he looked to remain uncontested.

Bones snorted, "Ah, my bad! Didn't realize that you were simply short."

Denak glared at the rude human. How dare he make fun of him?

Bones' eyes widened. "You… you are glaring?"

Denak's glare only intensified. "That's very observant of you, Doctor."

"What the hell?" Bones grumbled. "What happened to 'Vulcans-don't-feel' and all that shit? You are a Vulcan and Vulcans do not glare… Unless the Vulcan is Spock when Jim is about to be attacked, or doing something stupid, or trying to pick someone up… well you get the point."

"It is very stupid of you to think that Vulcans do not have any emotions. They just exert absolute control over them. Besides, I am half-human, Doctor," Denak replied, his nose in air. His show of disdain was interrupted by his growling stomach and he realized how hungry he was.

Gentle hands lifted him up into a half sitting, half lying position and then something big, red and juicy was held in front of his mouth. He tentatively took a bite and a sweet and sour taste filled his mouth. He eagerly took another bite.

While he was finishing his fruit, Denak wondered about the man beside him. He just couldn't figure him out. The Doctor's crude, uncaring demeanour was in direct contrast to the way his hands held him so gently and took care of his needs. He was, unsurprisingly, intrigued.

Bones waited for Denak to finish his food before stating, "Well, Spock is half-human too."

Denak sighed and wondered how to explain. Finally, taking a deep breath, he began, "I was the result of a scientific experiment by my biological parents. They put me up for adoption after their curiosity was appeased. Mom and dad adopted me when I was a three years old and brought me up on Earth. They took me to Vulcan yearly so that I could learn about my Vulcan heritage. It only stopped after… Vulcan was destroyed. Living among humans taught me to embrace my emotions while in Vulcan I learnt to exert control over them. Of course it helps that I am a submissive Vulcan. S'chn T'gai Spock, on the other hand, is a dominant and so he must have greater control. That is all I can tell you. I am not allowed to give details of such matters to people of other world."

"Wait, what?" Bones asked. "You're a submissive Vulcan. Spock's dominant. What the hell am I supposed to understand from that?"

Denak stared at Bones for a moment, his eyes alight with mischief. "Are you a virgin, Doctor? But surely you know the basics from your medical classes."

Bones sputtered incoherently for a few moments upon hearing the very inappropriate question… and also because of the slight upon his manhood. "Listen kid…," he began with a fearsome scowl upon his face, "I…"

Denak held up his hands in playful surrender. "It is illogical to take such offence over a simple question, Doctor."

Gritting his teeth, Bones closed his eyes in sheer exasperation. As if the human brat alone wasn't enough, he was now saddled with a Vulcan brat as well.

Well, someone up there in the heavens surely hated him.

"Being a virgin is no cause for embarrassment, Doctor. I'm a virgin too."

Bones groaned. Yup, it was hate all right.

**xxx  
**

"Captain…"

"No, I've had it Spock," Jim thundered. "We're going to settle this…"

"Captain, you must…"

Jim cut him off again. "Just tell me how you really feel…"

"Jim," Spock growled, "be quiet."

Jim closed his mouth with an audible snap, heeding both the command and urgency in Spock's voice.

"We are about to have company."

Going on alert, Jim swept his gaze all around the area. He saw Spock take out his phaser from the corner of his eyes and copied him.

"What is it Spock? Some predators again?" Jim questioned in a whisper. His mind flashed back to those beasts they had encountered earlier and he had to suppress a shudder.

Spock, staring intently towards their left, answered, "No Captain. I can hear speech patterns… It is a well developed group of sentient beings possessing vocal cords."

Jim frowned. "Could they be the ones we are looking for?"

"It is not entirely improbable but I am unable to detect the language," Spock replied. "It is much more likely that they are a highly evolved native species. Unfortunately, we have no way of determining whether they will be hostile or not."

"Shit," Jim cursed when even his ears could pick up the voices. "They are coming here. We have to move or risk being caught."

Both of them were laying flat on the ground, hidden from view by some dense thickets. It was an adequate hide-out if the group was only passing by; but it would certainly not stand up to scrutiny of any kind.

Jim glanced towards the direction Bones and Denak were in and wondered whether making a run for it would be advisable.

"We will be caught if we do so, Captain," Spock cautioned, reading Jim easily.

Jim sighed. It was true; even if they were not seen, the sounds would alert the group.

"You're right but we have to get out of here, Spock. We need a plan… and fast."

Jim's eyes flitted across the entire area before coming to rest on the deep stream feeding the river a few metres ahead. In the waning light of the day, he could barely see anything in that area. "I can't believe we're doing this. Spock," Jim said rising, "follow me."

Spock simply raised his brow and jogged after Jim. Once they neared the stream, Jim began wading into the water; only stopping to beckon Spock who seemed to be frozen near the bank.

What Jim did not know was that Spock was trying his best to find an alternative plan.

"Spock, stop being such a baby," he heard Jim hiss at him. "You have taken advanced courses in swimming, for god's sake."

Perhaps Jim knew after all.

Spock did not bother suppressing his sigh. Even though the swimming lessons he had taken were for this exact purpose and his hesitation could be considered to be illogical, he was a Vulcan and walking right into deep water bodies was not something he would ever be comfortable with.

Jim narrowed his eyes and mouthed, "I'm waiting."

Giving up, Spock waded into the stream after his human and tried not to let his distaste show.

Jim simply rolled his pretty blue eyes at him and went even further into the stream, not stopping until the water reached his chest. He lost his footing for a moment but managed to steady himself by catching hold of some rocks over the river bed. The current, though not very strong, was enough to make it difficult for him to find a sure footing. Jim slipped again.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist, steadying him, and Jim threw Spock a grateful smile. Now anchored to the strong body behind him, Jim gave his complete attention to the group of humanoids near the river bank.

Even after trying his level best for a while, the only thing Jim could be sure about in the poor light was that the humanoids were tall; their average height being two metres more or less. And that they were discussing something amongst themselves while looking all around the river bank.

"Shit! I think they know someone was there," Jim whispered. "We have to talk to Denak as soon as possible."

Spock seemed to be deep in thought.

"Captain, I have reasons to believe that the scientists and security officers have been captured by these natives. They are probably searching for Denak at present," Spock informed him.

"Arrgh… great! Seriously, why do we always get stuck in such messy situations?"Jim complained while looking at Spock over his shoulders.

Jim saw Spock's eyes narrow at something before he replied, "Ah, Captain… I believe the situation is about to get… messier."

… **to be continued.**

* * *

**So, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for reading. :) Please review.**

**tanseynz** \- Hey, so you are team Jim. But please don't hate Spock for his obliviousness. I'm sure Jim can keep him in line.:P I'm glad you liked Denak. Yes, he does favour his human side more. Thank you for reading and commenting.:)


	8. Chapter 8

**_Hello everyone! Let's find out about the newest trouble in town._**

_**Hope you all will like it.:)**_

* * *

_Last –_

_"Arrgh… great! Seriously, why do we always get stuck in such messy situations?"Jim complained while looking at Spock over his shoulders._

_Jim saw Spock's eyes narrow at something before he replied, "Ah, Captain… I believe the situation is about to get… messier."_

**XxXxXxX**

"What?" Jim exclaimed, his head swivelling back towards the river bank. A curse escaped his lips as he spied one of the natives moving along the river bank in their direction. Of course, nothing could be easy when they were involved.

"Spock, you better have some clever idea to deal with _this_ particular mess," Jim griped, worrying his lower lip between his teeth. "In fact, as your Captain, I'm ordering you to get us out of this."

Spock suppressed an exasperated sigh. "Captain, it is illogical of you to order me to…"

"Spooock, shut up! Use that bloody brilliant brain of yours to think of something," Jim hissed. _'Because there is only one thing I can think of,' _he silently added in his mind,_ 'and we're not doing it unless there is no other way.'_

A few precious seconds passed during which Spock thought about the various options available to them and swiftly discarded all but one. Unfortunately, it was the one running through his Captain's mind – going underwater.

Spock could feel the reluctance and latent fear which that option was inducing in Jim. He frowned, unable to understand why an adrenaline junkie like him would be afraid of such a simple task. A moment later, the answer hit him like the proverbial sledgehammer.

Jim would not be able to breathe… just like in the warp core when he was dying. Spock felt his arm tighten involuntarily around Jim's slim waist. _'Perhaps, it will be prudent to tie him to a bed in future – my bed preferably _– _where I can keep him safe from every harm,'_ the thought popped randomly in Spock's mind and his eyes widened, alarmed at the sudden direction his thoughts had taken. Even more alarming for him was that he did not know which part of him was responsible for such a reflection – his human or the Vulcan part.

**xxx**

In the meantime, the native was steadily getting closer to the spot from which they would be in his direct line of sight. Jim had tensed, feeling like a cornered animal, when the native suddenly stopped and crouched down in order to observe something on the ground.

Jim relaxed his clenched jaw and remarked drily, "Spock, if you've found a way then this would be the right time to come out with it. That humanoid over there might be tracking us."

Spock, who had tensed himself, replied immediately, "Captain, I'm afraid the only course of action available to us involves the one you are so reluctant of following. There is simply no other possible way we can evade being sighted."

Jim jerked in surprise. How did Spock know what he had been thinking and feeling? Wait… was he... could he be reading his thoughts?

Jim's eyes narrowed as he turned to stare at Spock.

"Yes, but I assure you that it is unintentional, Captain," Spock replied to Jim's unspoken question, brown eyes meeting blue ones unwaveringly. It wasn't as if he was embarrassed; because it would be illogical to be embarrassed about something not in his control. He hadn't got an opportunity to meditate for nearly thirty six hours, resulting in the decline of his mental shield strength by 11.86%. Though the damage was minor, his mind's high compatibility with Jim's was allowing him to pick up the other's thoughts easily. Also the fact that Jim was pressed against him was certainly not helping.

Jim, meanwhile, was staring at the slight greenish tinge which had materialized in Spock's ears with barely hidden glee_. 'Sweet Lord! An embarrassed Spock is so fucking cute,'_ Jim thought, suppressing the chuckle which was threatening to erupt.

Spock pursed his lips, glaring at Jim. He was not embarrassed and most definitely not 'cute'.

"Cute!" Spock muttered to himself, quite affronted.

"Well, you do know what they say about eavesdroppers Spock, don't you? They never hear any good of themselves," Jim quipped, grinning shamelessly. "Though I have no idea why you dislike being called cute. Even your eyebrows are sooo cute."

Spock did not dignify the ridiculous statements with a reply. Instead, he queried, "How long will you be able to hold your breath underwater, Captain?"

Jim sobered at once. It was the exact thing which he had been trying to avoid thinking about. He let out a small sigh before answering in a small voice, "I can do it for three minutes tops."

Spock nodded. "Inhale as deeply as you can, Captain. We will be submerging together."

**xxx**

Jim looked at Spock and then at the native and then back again before giving a reluctant nod. Unwilling to waste another moment, Spock adjusted Jim in his arms so that they stood face to face instead. He was about to inhale deeply when he stilled.

In his arms, Jim's body was so tense that it seemed almost brittle. Even in the muted light he could clearly see the panic Jim was trying to hide. He could feel the fear and anxiety threatening to overwhelm Jim – and those were unacceptable to Spock. Without further ado, he pulled Jim even closer to him; letting out a small sigh when Jim buried his face in the crook of his neck.

The action suddenly triggered a suspicion in Spock's mind. Now that he thought about it, whenever he roused Jim from his nightmares, whenever they lost one of their crew members, whenever something distressing took place… Jim had a habit of doing this while seeking comfort from him. How had he been so oblivious? Had he not seen his mother seek comfort from his father in a similar way in the privacy of their home? And though he had never witnessed any other couple displaying such behaviour, he knew that it was common among bonded ones as their scents contained unique pheromones which were capable of soothing their mates.

But, Jim and he were not bonded. Then how was this possible? Yes, their minds were highly compatible but…

'_Oh!_' Spock drew in a sharp breath, shocked. Was something like that even possible? Could Jim be – '_Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'_

Spock stared at Jim reverently_. 'T'hy'la.'_

**xxx**

Jim knew that he was making a fool of himself. He could come up for air anytime, for God's sake; also the native was not going to camp out there. And then there was Spock; he would be right beside him all the time.

"Captain… Jim… please relax. Though I often find you acting foolishly, it is not true for this situation. Your worry is justified; but I give you my word that you will be safe," Spock reassured him in a calm, soothing voice. "I will never allow any harm to befall you," Spock vowed, eyes shining with sincerity.

Enclosed in Spock's arms and faced with such unconditional regard, Jim felt his fear abating. Taking in another lungful of Spock's scent that smelt like home, safety and bliss, he relaxed even further. "I too will never allow anything to hurt you, you idiot," Jim whispered, smiling. He knew Spock could hear him loud and clear with that Superman hearing of his.

"I know, ashayam," Spock replied softly.

Wondering what the Vulcan word meant, Jim returned to his original position and tilted his stubborn little chin upwards. "Alright then, let's do this."

**xxx**

Spock stood alert, eyes locked on the native, waiting for the appropriate moment. He let the native approach as close as he dared before finally giving the signal for them to submerge.

"Now, Jim."

Jim inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with as much air as he could. Spock did the same and after one last nod they went underwater.

**XxXxXxX**

As soon as they submerged, Jim's fear returned with a vengeance. He forced himself to be still, trying not to panic. '_I'm not inside that warp core,' _he found himself repeating it like a mantra. '_I'm not.' _Their safety… Spock's safety depended upon this and he would be damned before allowing his fear to put Spock in danger.

Spock could feel the fear trying to overwhelm Jim once again. As if the small tremors running through his t'hy'la's body wasn't a proof enough, Jim's terror was also in Spock's mind... swamping him. And he could no longer ignore it. He splayed his fingers over Jim's psy points and slipped into his mind easily.

Spock had melded with Jim quite a few times in the past, but this was the first time he did it without asking for Jim's permission first.

Not that Jim minded. Oh, he did not mind at all.

Warmth and pleasure flooded his mind, like it always did whenever Spock was inside. And instead of fear, the rightness of Spock inside him overwhelmed him. It was how they were meant to be… joined so deeply that nothing could ever set them apart.

'_Jim… you are with me,' _Spock's voice echoed inside his mind_. 'You are safe. Breathe… one small release of air at a time. Breathe with me.'_

Jim followed Spock's lead with no hesitation whatsoever, and soon they were breathing out almost synchronously.

**xxx**

A minute passed and then another. Jim dug his fingers into Spock's arms in alarm. He was losing air.

'_Spock…' _

Spock did not waste time replying. He simply caught Jim's face in his hands and leaned forwards, feathering his lips over Jim's.

Jim froze. Before he could form an argument of any kind, Spock breathed into his mouth slowly; allowing him to take the air deep into his lungs. Once he was done, Spock moved away.

'_Dammit!' _Jim dug his fingers deeper into Spock's arms, his eyes huge with worry. _'You always do this, Spock. What about you?' _

'_My respiratory system is more efficient than yours as it is adapted to extract oxygen from Vulcan's thin atmosphere. I also require a much lower quantity of oxygen to function. You need not be alarmed on my behalf, Jim.'_

'_Need not be alarmed… my ass! If something happens to you… I need you Spock. I can't lose you. Promise me you'll stop doing such things.' _It was hell of a time for confessing, but Jim had to make Spock understand how important he was to him. He impatiently waited for Spock's promise.

And waited... and waited.

Finally he prompted, '_Spock?'_

'_I'm afraid I cannot make a promise I will not be able to uphold.'_ Spock's face was stoic. _'If ever a choice has to be made between you and me, I will always choose you.'_

Jim was gobsmacked. He half wanted to strangle Spock and half wanted to kiss him silly. But considering the situation, he did neither.

'_Did anyone ever tell you how annoyingly stubborn you are?'_

'_I believe you and Dr. McCoy always do.'_

'_Well, you are lucky that you are so cute.'_

_..._

'… _Cute?!'_

Jim mentally snickered.

**XxXxXxX**

'_Spock, surely the native must have gone by now.' _Jim knew he was whining but did not care. His need for air was that great. And besides, it was Spock; the only one who could handle him at his worst. Not even Bones could do that.

'_I'll have to resurface in order to confirm that. Wait here, I will be back within a few seconds,' _Spock replied.

Before Spock could break their meld, Jim grabbed his hands. _'Absolutely not. Don't you dare… I'm coming with you.'_

Spock considered it while eyeing Jim. Once they resurfaced, Jim would automatically start gasping for air; and if the native was nearby, he would be alerted of their presence. This could potentially compromise their safety and it would only be logical to leave Jim behind.

Jim narrowed his eyes.

'_As you wish; let us proceed,' _Spock stated before breaking their meld.

**xxx**

Jim was hit by a keen sense of loss when Spock's mind left his, just like always. And as always, he hated it. He hated it more than he hated Winona and that was saying something. It should have been the other way round though. He should have hated his privacy being violated so blatantly; as the case would be if someone other than Spock tried melding with him. But with Spock, it just felt… natural and right. It felt good… so good… to have Spock inside of him. Perhaps it was because of their 'highly compatible' minds.

Jim and Spock re-emerged slowly; barely breaking the surface of the water. Jim, as Spock had predicted, began gasping for air immediately to meet his body's oxygen demand; while Spock's eyes meticulously sought out the native. He found him – back with his companions near the river bank and they seemed to be leaving.

Spock felt the tension leaving his body. His eyes sought out Jim next - and the sight took his breath away. Bathed in the glow of the sunset, Jim was absolutely stunning. The wet, golden hair shone like a halo while the blue eyes sparkled with vigour and vivacity. All the while those cherry red lips smiled at him softly.

"Yes! We make an awesome team," Jim exclaimed smugly. His breathing had returned to a much more sedate pace. "Now get me out of this damn water, and you might get real lucky tonight."

That seemed to be the last straw for Spock. Interacting with humans for several years had made him quite familiar with their lingo. He knew exactly what Jim meant and lost the battle to remain unfazed in the face of pure temptation that was his mate, his t'hy'la.

"I certainly hope you will be able to keep your end of the deal, ashayam," Spock growled, not recognizing his own voice.

**xxx**

Jim blinked at the sudden change in Spock's demeanour. But before he could process what Spock had just insinuated, strong hands clutched his waist and he was yanked forwards into Spock's waiting arms. A single sound of surprise escaped his lips before they were crushed under Spock's.

Jim froze in shock for a moment but then moaned out loud when Spock gripped his bottom lip in between his teeth and suckled it into his mouth, hard.

Waves and waves of hunger, need and heat swept through him, driving him wild.

**xxx**

Spock growled at the first taste of those soft, plump lips which had teased and tormented him endlessly over the years; it was exquisite. But he needed more… he wanted more. He pulled Jim even closer, his hands running over every inch of his mate's delicious body; sliding down the strong column of his back to finally stop at his bottom. He cupped the heated, plump flesh and squeezed.

Jim gasped; and taking advantage Spock probed his tongue deep inside Jim's mouth, warring with Jim's for dominance. Nothing but his mate's complete submission would sate him.

**xxx**

Jim kissed Spock back with everything he had; years of unspent sexual tension finally finding its release. And it was nothing short of explosive. Spock was exploring the inside of his mouth, mapping and tasting every inch of it; leaving him nothing but a shuddering mess of want and need.

He heard a keening sound and realized that it was coming from him. It was too much. He was drowning in Spock; his intoxicating smell, his lips, his wicked tongue, and his hands which were fondling his body all over. Spock was relentless.

Soon, Spock took complete control of the kiss and Jim surrendered.

**xxx**

It was only when Jim really needed to breathe that Spock pulled away reluctantly. But his heated gaze never left Jim's.

Jim groaned; he was so hard that his trousers seemed to be strangling him. "Let's get out of here," he whispered shakily, a fierce blush staining his cheeks; and Spock wordlessly nodded.

**xxx**

**xxx Smutty scenes deleted. Sorry, but it's against Fanfiction rules. xxx  
**

**XxXxXxX**

"Kid… wake up," Bones whispered urgently while shaking Denak gently to rouse him from his sleep.

Denak opened his eyes blearily, an adorable pout gracing his lips, and Bones' lips twitched. It seemed that seeing these kinds of expressions on a Vulcan would never stop amusing him.

"What?" Denak grumbled.

Bones rolled his eyes. "Look, I heard some disturbances and want to check up on Jim and Spock. With their luck… anything can happen. I want you to stay here, okay."

Denak's eyes widened in panic and as quick as lightening, he clutched Bones' shirt. "No. Stay."

Bones sighed. He too did not want to leave the kid alone but Jim and Spock could be in trouble.

"Hey, tell you what… I'll be gone and back before you wake up from your next nap, okay," Bones smiled imploringly.

"I do not take naps." Denak narrowed his eyes and glared at Bones stubbornly for a while before his face wilted and he reluctantly let go of Bones' shirt. "Sorry. My behaviour is illogical."

"Denak, you were nearly mauled to death today. You can be as illogical as you want," Bones grumbled and was rewarded with a small smile.

"I'll be back soon, just stay here," saying so for one last time, Bones took his leave.

Denak kept his unwavering gaze on Bones up till the moment he could see him no more.

* * *

**Hello again! I'm sorry about the deleted smut scene. But if you guys are interested then you can read it in ao3**.

**By the way, I'll be eagerly waiting for your comments.**

**Solo16** \- I hope this was to your liking. Thank you reading and commenting.:)

**Until next time then. Love and kisses.^^**


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